More than Machines
by DaJazzGal
Summary: The Freelancers were always cold, efficient and deadly. With the armour, the superhuman abilities, the A.I. programs, it was easy for outsiders to forget they were still human. North/York
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! Jazz here, with my first ever multichapter fic! Enjoy!**

**Warnings: SLASH! No likey, no ready!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Red vs Blue or any of the characters in it!**

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She was going to wear a hole in the floor, of that Nicholas was certain, as he watched his twin sister Nicole pace back and forth. Nick knew why she was nervous; he too was anxious to see if they were going to be accepted into the next level of testing. After all, this is what they'd always dreamed of. Nicole had always had high hopes of fighting for Earth, as had Nick, making it probably the only thing they had ever agreed on.

However, Nick knew the current companionship he had with Nicole wasn't going to last. She was fiercely competitive, particularly when it came to her skill in the army, and she saw everyone as a threat. Even her own brother.

Nick had never fully understood why Nicole insisted on constantly trying to be better than him in everything. They were twins; according to everyone else, twins were supposed to be so close that they could hear each other's thoughts. But, though they did work extremely well together when the time came, Nick knew that Nicole wouldn't hesitate to turn her gun on him in order to beat him.

After all, those who were alive were always better than those who were dead.

But Nick had accepted this ever since Nicole had pushed him out of a tree when they were kids so that she would reach the top first. He'd broken his arm, and their parents had been furious. Nick had immediately told them that it had been an accident, that he'd slipped on the branch and fallen. He had even embellished a bit, telling them that Nicole had tried heroically to catch him, but wasn't fast enough. Naturally, their parents bought every word that spilled from his mouth, because he had always been the perfect son, the one who never lied. They had filled Nicole's ears with praise of her bravery, and she had smiled and nodded, basking in the attention. Never once did she even look at her brother.

Nick sighed and ran a hand through his white-blond hair, his broad shoulders hunched in the uncomfortable seat. He really just wanted to be told whether they wanted him or not so that he could get out of this stuffy room filled with men and women all either pacing or just sitting in a chair like him, their faces creased with worry.

"Hey man, you okay?" Nick snapped his head up to see a young man with short black hair standing in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," he answered. They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before the other man spoke.

"Oh, I'm Andrew," he said, holding out a hand. Nick glanced at it for a moment.

"Nick," he finally replied, taking the offered hand.

"So, Nick," Andrew started, taking a seat beside him, "did you sign up for the Freelancer program too?"

"Yeah, our sergeant recommended that my sister and I sign up for it. He said we had a good shot at getting in." Nick leaned back in his seat. "I'm wondering whether he just wanted to get rid of Nicole and sent me as well to avoid suspicion."

"Nah, I'm sure there was a reason he sent you!" Andrew reassured with a friendly slap on the back. Nick offered a small smile in return.

Before they could say anymore, however, a sudden hush fell over the room as a dark-skinned man stepped into the room, holding a clipboard.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen," he began, with a smooth, soft voice oozing a politeness that made Nick's skin crawl. "I am certain you have all been… anxious, to hear who has been accepted into stage two of testing for Project Freelancer."

Out of the corner of his eye, Nick saw Nicole inching towards him. He shuffled slightly sideways, a subtle invitation for her to sit beside him, which she did. Nick was unsurprised to see that she didn't even offer him a glance.

"I shall now read off the names of the men and women who have successfully passed the first round of tests." The creepy man stated, looking down at his clipboard and beginning to read off names. One of the first few names he read off was "Andrew McIntyre," and Nick glanced over at his new companion to see him relax visibly with a smile on his face. Nick slapped him on the back and grinned, and Andrew grinned back happily. Nick was snapped out of his daze when he heard "Nicholas Mason," followed shortly by "Nicole Mason."

Nick glanced over to see Nicole staring at him, her face an odd mixture of happiness and jealousy. Clearly, she hadn't wanted Nick to be accepted as well. Nick simply smiled warmly at her, knowing that deep down she was glad she wouldn't be alone.

"Well done, sis," he congratulated, with not a hint of falseness in his voice. Nicole just nodded curtly, flicking her ear-length hair, the same silver blonde as her brother's, out of her eyes. Nick watched her for a moment, before turning his attention back to the man at the front just in time to hear the last name being called.

"To everybody whose name was not called, we all deeply apologise. You all did very well, and it was very… difficult picking out the top soldiers." The man said, his oily voice hardly concealing the lie. Beside him, Nick heard Andrew snort with disbelief. "We wish you all the very best for all your future endeavours, and I now ask that you please exit the premises."

And with that, about two thirds of the room was ushered out by security guards. Nick stared in surprise at the sheer amount of people they were kicking out, and how few there were left.

Once all the rejected soldiers had left, the man at the front began talking again.

"To everybody else in this room, welcome to Project Freelancer. You may all refer to me as the Counsellor." The room was immediately filled with confused whispers, which subsided when the Counsellor held up his hand for silence. "Yes, I understand that I did say there would be a second round of testing, but that was a slight… bending of the truth. There was only one set of tests for acceptance into Project Freelancer. The rest of the 'tests' will be your proper Freelancer training, and should you make it through the next few months, then the missions will commence."

"What do you think he means by 'make it through'?" Andrew whispered. Nick only shrugged, keeping his eyes on the front as the Counsellor once again signalled for quiet.

"Now, you will be shown to your new rooms, which I hope you will all find to your satisfaction. I expect you to all be ready for an early start tomorrow, as you will be receiving your codenames and your armour. Goodnight." The Counsellor turned and vanished through a side door, while a bunch of security guards escorted the Freelancers through another door. Nick followed blindly, too busy thinking to bother taking note of their surroundings, and instead was thinking.

He was a Freelancer. A real soldier, not just some recruit. Finally, his childhood dream was coming true. They reached the quarters area fairly quickly, which was just a long corridor with many doors. Vaguely, Nick registered one of the security guards telling them to pick any random room for now, and their doors would be labelled with their codenames the next day. He just went over to the door closest to him, and saw that Andrew had taken the dorm on his right, while Nicole had moved into the room directly opposite him. There was a keypad on the wall next to the door, but the door was open, so Nick went straight in.

The room was simple and plain. There was a single bed in the centre, with two beside tables with drawers. A small wardrobe was against the right wall, with a mirror above it. A full length mirror was on the wall opposite the bed. Nick stepped fully into the room, and the door slid softly shut behind him. He went over and sank down onto the bed. There was a small slip of paper on one of the bedside tables, which simply read _Keypad Code: 05251_. Nick put it into the top drawer and lay properly on his bed, sliding under the covers and sinking down into the soft mattress.

For a while, he simply lay there, too excited to go to sleep. But eventually, exhaustion won out, and he slipped into unconsciousness, his mind full of images of future battles and victories.

Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.

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**Thanks for reading, and please leave a review! Remember, I'm still new to this, so no mean comments please! Constructive critism is always welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone, and welcome to chapter 2 of More than Machines! Cookies if you correctly matched the names to the agents!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it!**

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Nick was awoken by a feminine voice blaring out through the hallway.

"Attention all Freelancer agents. It is 0500 hours. Please meet outside your rooms, and you shall be escorted to the dining area." The voice said in a robotic way. The request was repeated several times as Nick hastened to get out of bed. Looking around, he suddenly remembered that he was in the same clothes that he was in yesterday, and that he hadn't brought any other clothes with him.

He settled for heading over to the full length mirror on the wall and smoothing down his hair as well as he could, and tugging on his grey shirt to smooth out the creases. Eventually, he gave up, pulled his shoes on and headed outside. Before he reached the door, however, he remembered the slip of paper containing his keypad code. He quickly rushed over and grabbed it, repeating the number over and over until he was positive he would remember it.

_05251, 05251, 05251, _he thought to himself as he stepped out into the hallway. He saw pretty much all the other Freelancers already waiting, some chatting amongst themselves, others looking around anxiously. He saw Nicole was already talking to another woman with red hair in a ponytail. Looking around, Nick spotted Andrew coming out of the room beside his, and he quickly went over. Andrew glanced up as he approached.

"Hey, Nick," Andrew greeted with a warm grin. "Sleep well?"

"Like a baby," Nick grinned back.

"So, what do you reckon our codenames are gonna be?" Andrew asked, leaning against the wall. Nick just shrugged and followed his example, crossing his arms and resting his head back.

"I hope they aren't numbers," Andrew said with a sheepish grin. At Nick's confused look, he continued. "I'm really bad with numbers. I'm having enough trouble remembering my keypad code!" Nick chuckled and straightened to his full height. Andrew whistled, and Nick turned towards him sharply.

"Wow, man, you're tall!" Andrew cried. Nick realised that he was right; he stood at least a foot taller than most in the room. Andrew's eyes were level with Nick's shoulder when they both stood up straight.

"Sorry, that was blunt, I just… didn't notice it before, I guess!" Andrew quickly tried to backtrack, although he was stopped by Nick's warm laughter.

"It's okay, I get it a lot," he said, before teasingly resting an arm on Andrew's head. Andrew shoved him off with a cry of complaint, before both dissolved into laughter. They quickly sobered, however, when two security guards appeared.

"Hello, Agents. If you will please follow us, you shall be escorted to the dining area." Without another word, the guards turned and walked off, with the group following behind. This time, Nick made sure to note which hallways they turned down and which doors they went through. He was pretty sure that they weren't going to be escorted all the time.

When they finally reached the dining hall, it was not exactly what Nick had been expecting. There were tables with six chairs arranged all over the room, with a long buffet running down the middle. The buffet had everything for breakfast, pancakes, cereal, bacon and eggs, juice, coffee and everything else you could imagine.

"Please enjoy your meal, and F.I.L.S.S, our on-board A.I. program, will alert you when it is time to finish up," one of the soldiers said, before they both turned and left. Nick and Andrew immediately headed to the coffee machine, where a line was already forming.

After getting their breakfast, Nick and Andrew realised that there were enough seats for all the Freelancers, but none extra. They saw a table with two free seats and made a beeline for it.

"Hey, can we please sit down?" Andrew asked. The current occupants looked up and nodded. Nick and Andrew quickly placed their trays down and slid into the available seats.

"I'm Nick, and this is Andrew," Nick began, as a way to break the ice. Andrew waved, too busy scarfing down scrambled eggs to say anything. A young man with blonde hair and grey eyes replied.

"I'm David, and this is Reginald," he began, motioning to a brown haired man with a moustache.

"Morning, chaps!" he said in a thick British accent.

"Matt," David continued, clapping a massive man on the back. Matt just grunted, also too busy tearing apart his bacon to make a proper reply.

"And Rick," David finished. The young, brown haired man in question grinned and snapped off a cheeky salute.

"Nice to meet you!" Rick said, before returning to his cereal. Nick was relieved that they all seemed pretty nice, although, as they all talked and laughed jovially, excluding Matt, who seemed to prefer grunting or using as few words as possible, Nick couldn't shake the feeling that this easy friendship wasn't going to last.

* * *

After breakfast was over, with the robotic feminine voice that Nick could now identify as F.I.L.S.S telling them all that it was time to clear up, the two escorts returned and led them to what appeared to be a large seminar room. Nick, Andrew, David, Matt, Reginald (who insisted on being called Reggie) and Rick all sat in the same row. The quiet murmurs that permeated the room immediately quieted when the Counsellor from the other day entered with a false smile that made the hairs on the back of Nick's neck stand up. He really didn't like this man.

"Greetings, Agents, and welcome to your first day as Freelancers. I would like to introduce you to the man who started this program, the Director." The Counsellor stepped back to allow a tall man with glasses and facial hair to step forward. The man had a very intimidating presence, and Nick felt himself shrink a little in his chair, as did most of the room.

"Agents, you are here because we want the best. Our program is aimed at producing the top soldiers for our planet to rely on in this war. This is not a place for hopes and fantasies. There are no heroes here." The Director glared at them all, before turning and exiting. The Counsellor stepped forwards.

"As you know, our program is a very secretive operation. Our first order of business is to distribute codenames. Once you receive your new name, you are not to ever use your real name. Is this clear?"

There was a chorus of confirmation, before the Counsellor continued.

"On the screen above me, we will list five names of your names at a time. Each name will have your codename beside it. Please, pay attention, as the names will not be up for long. I would also like to remind you that all codenames are randomly generated, and are of no significance to the recipient."

Nick and Andrew immediately fixed their eyes on the screen. In the first five names, all in alphabetical order. He saw the name Andrew McIntyre, and the codename beside it was 'Agent New York' in capital letters.

"Yeah, I got New York!" Andrew said excitedly, before immediately turning to the rest of the group and saying, "please, just call me York!"

Nick continued watching the names. David was Agent Washington, and Matt was Agent Maine. Finally, the 'N' group came up.

Nicholas Mason – Agent North Dakota

Nicole Mason – Agent South Dakota

"Oh, god," Nick groaned, slapping his hand against his face.

"What's up?" York asked in concern.

"Nicky's gonna kill me. She hates being compared to me. Now we're gonna be called 'the Dakotas' or something like that." Nick sighed. York put a hand on his shoulder and grinned.

"Don't worry about it, _North_," he reassured. Nick -_no, North_, he mentally corrected- smiled back gratefully. He kept watching the board, learning that Reggie was Wyoming, and Rick was Utah. The hall was filled with voices talking about their codenames, but a hush fell over everyone as the Director and the Counsellor reappeared.

"Agents, if you would now follow your escorts to have your measurements taken for your armour." The Director called out, before they left once again and the security guards reappeared. North could tell that York was barely containing his excitement, and he felt the same way. After all, armour was the final step to becoming a full-fledged Freelancer!

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**Thanks for reading, please review, and the next chapter should be up soon! Constructive critism always welcome, but please be nice as I am new to this!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! Me again, with another chapter of More than Machines!**

**WARNING: This chapter contains POTENTIAL SLASH! Once again, no likey, no ready!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Red vs Blue, nor do I own any of the characters/trademarks associated with it!**

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The armour measurements took longer than North had expected, simply because of his height. The measurements were also going to be used to get them clothes to wear around the base, since nobody had thought to bring a suitcase. Luckily, Project Freelancer had come equipped with a large supply of Freelancer outfits, so when North was finally released from the measurers abode he was decked out in a black t-shirt with the Project Freelancer symbol on the front, with dark grey jeans and black boots.

He met up with York at their usual table, where he was having an animated discussion with Wash about whose shoulder width measurements were larger. Maine was ignoring them, while Utah just watched with amusement. He looked up when North sat down.

"Hey, where's Wyoming?" North asked as he put his tray down.

"Having an argument with the coffee machine. Apparently it keeps giving him black tea when he asks for Earl Grey," Utah replied with a chuckle. North rolled his eyes and elbowed York to get his attention.

"There you are!" York exclaimed, "they were taking forever!"

"Apparently they aren't used to people as tall as 6'4". So much for having something for everyone!" North replied with a grin.

"Holy crap, you're 6'4"? That's insane, man!" Wash cried, joining in the conversation.

"Does the height run in the family?" York asked. North shook his head.

"Nah, Nic- sorry, South, is only 5'9" I think," he replied.

"Does that mean it'll take longer to have your armour made?" Utah asked, attempting to steal a chip from York's plate and getting a slapped hand instead.

"I hope not!" North replied, taking a bite of his sandwich. "I need it tomorrow, because apparently we have paint gun training."

"Damn, paintballs hurt when they hit your skin!" York exclaimed with a theatrical wince, before laughing.

"Shut up! Anyway, you won't be laughing when I'm done with you this afternoon!" North shot back good-naturedly.

"Oh yeah, we have hand-to-hand training, don't we?" York jumped up and adopted the 'crane' position. "Oh, you are _so _going down!"

"Sit down, people are staring!" Wash hissed, yanking on York's arm. He fell back into his seat with a yelp.

"Anyway, we should probably get a move on, because we have to find the training room and Wash is hopeless with a map," North ribbed, chuckling when Wash shot him a glare.

"Yep, you're right!" York said, jumping up. "Don't worry, I'm good at navigating!" And with that, he left, with North and Wash hastily saying goodbye to Utah and Maine and following.

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"Well, turns out you are good at navigating," Wash relented, as they stood outside the training room doors.

"What did I tell you? I know what I'm doing!" York replied smugly, before pushing the doors open and entering. To their surprise, there were several suits of armour lined up in storage containers.

"Wow, that was fast," North exclaimed. He suddenly realised that Project Freelancer was even bigger than he had anticipated.

"What kind of technology do you reckon they have in order to make full suits of armour that quickly?" York asked, his voice full of wonder.

"Rather good technology, Agent New York," came the oily voice of the Counsellor. The three Freelancers turned to see him enter through another door. "You three are early for your training. Your enthusiasm is… admirable."

"So, are we getting our armour today?" Wash asked. The Counsellor nodded.

"Yes, if you'd like to step forwards." The Counsellor pulled out a strange device and pressed a button. Instantly, two people who looked like scientists entered the room. They went up to the Counsellor.

"Names?" one asked, without even looking at the agents.

"Agents Washington, New York and North Dakota." The Counsellor replied. The other scientist looked at his clipboard.

"Agent Washington, please step forward." He asked. Wash complied eagerly, and he was led over to one of the containers. In it was a grey suit of armour with yellow highlights. Wash was handed a tight black one-piece suit to wear under his armour, and guided to a screened changing booth. By now, more agents were entering the training room, and they were whispering excitedly to each other as the Counsellor put them into a single line.

Eventually, Wash emerged wearing only the under-suit, and the two scientists set to work attaching all the different parts of the armour. He was soon fully suited up and sent over to a different part of the room, where another set of scientists got him into some exercises to see how he felt in his armour.

York received a tan set of armour with white highlights, and he too joined Wash in the training area.

Finally, North received his suit to put on, which he did as quickly as possible, and went to have his armour put on. To his surprise, it was very light and well-fitted, and North found it didn't restrict his movement very much at all. He was directed over to where Wash and York were, and was greeted with laughter.

"You're _purple_!" York howled, falling to the floor. North just kicked him in the chest and started his exercises, which were just basics such as jogging on the spot, jumping, punches and kicks. North had clearly already demonstrated his skill in the latter, because York was still on the ground holding his ribs.

Unfortunately, North wasn't able to beat the crap out of York in hand to hand combat because they were not up to sparring. Instead, the trainers had them destroying human-shaped punching bags, which everyone enjoyed.

* * *

The Freelancers wore their armour everywhere except to bed. Often, they took their helmet off and carried them around under their arm, but it was rare to see anybody in normal clothes.

North found out that South had received armour that was a lighter shade of purple with the same green trim. He also found out that she was furious; despite them rarely spending any time together outside training, the Project still insisted on making it obvious that they were related. Because of this, South was deliberately distancing herself even further from her brother, instead choosing to hang out with her red-headed friend Carolina, and a shy brown-haired girl called Connecticut, or Connie. North wasn't upset, being more than happy to continue spending time with his friends, especially York.

At that, North paused. North had always known he was bi, having once had a crush on one of his sister's boyfriends. Naturally, that hadn't gone over well, as North could never keep anything from his sister.

But why was he suddenly so interested in York? Sure, he'd willingly admit that he was very good looking and a great friend, but nothing more.

Right?

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**Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive critism, as always, is very welcome! Mean comments will be ignored, because I know I'm not perfect!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys, and welcome to chapter 4 of More than Machines!**

**WARNING: PRE-SLASH! No likey, no ready, no flamey, okay?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it!**

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The next day, North's mind was still buzzing. Did he really like York that way? The more he thought about it, the more real it seemed. He easily admitted to himself that he considered York a very attractive guy, and he was very easy to get along with. But a guy like that would definitely be straight. North would have to be the luckiest man in the world if York turned out to be gay.

North was so absorbed in his own musings that he didn't even notice the object of his turmoil until he nearly ran straight into him.

"Wha- oh, hey North! What's up?" York exclaimed with a grin as he swiftly rebalanced himself on North's armoured shoulder. Even through the layers of metal plating, North felt a thrill run through him at the contact.

"Oh! Sorry, I, uh, wasn't watching where I was going, sorry man!" North blurted in a rush, before feeling heat creep up his neck. He quickly put his helmet on before York could see.

"Hey, you okay, dude?" York asked with concern, leaning closer to him. "You're acting a bit weird today."

"No, I'm fine, I just didn't sleep very well last night," North replied honestly. He hadn't gotten much sleep; he had been too busy thinking about York.

"Too excited about getting your ass kicked in paintball by yours truly?" York quipped with a grin, elbowing North in the ribs hard enough to make him wheeze. "And that's payback for kicking me yesterday!"

"Let's get down there, and then we'll see who gets an ass-kicking!" North shot back good-naturedly.

"Well, if I can't beat you, we can always get Wash!"

"Five bucks on whoever hits Wash first?" North asked, putting out a fist, which York eagerly mirrored.

"You're on!"

* * *

They arrived at the training room early, to see that it was now full of tall, rectangular pillars. On the side, there was a bench with a large selection of modified guns.

"Dibs on the Sniper Rifle!" North cried out when he spotted his favourite weapon, heading over to stand beside it. York just laughed as he inspected a Magnum.

"I call dibs on the Battle Rifle!" North and York turned to see Wash jogging over to them, followed by Utah and Connie. Shortly afterwards, a member of staff entered.

"Hello, agents! My name is Mr Hart, and I will be overseeing your training today," he said, with a kind voice. "Today you will be using the lockdown paint. The lockdown function is a way to simulate how real life injuries would affect the way you act. The paint will lock up different areas of your armour depending on where you're hit. If it hits your right arm, for example, then your whole right arm will lock up and be useless. If you get hit in the chest or head, your whole body will lock up, which indicates that you have been killed. If you get hit enough times in the arms or legs, however, you will 'die' anyway."

"Okay, five bucks to whoever hits Wash first, ten bucks if you kill him," York whispered to North, who nodded eagerly.

"The test will be free-for-all. Everyone is your enemy here." Mr Hart continued. "The round is over when only one person is left. Choose your weapons, take your positions, and F.I.L.S.S will countdown for you. Good luck!" And with that, Mr Hart left, presumably to watch from the viewing decks. York and North slapped a high-five before heading off to take their positions. Once they were settled, F.I.L.S.S began the countdown.

"The test shall commence in 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Round begin."

North swiftly loaded his Sniper Rifle, which he had grabbed earlier, and held it at the ready. He peeked around the side of his block in time to see a flash of grey and gold that could only be Wash. He turned around and looked across the other side of his block, his rifle at the ready. He waited, when suddenly he saw movement and Wash quickly ran out of his hiding place.

_Bang! _The shot rang out, and North wished he could have seen the look on Wash's face as the purple-pink paint splattered solidly over his helmet, before all his armour locked up and he fell to the floor, stiff as a board. York owed him ten bucks.

Speaking of York, North saw a streak of tan armour out of the corner of his visor. He quickly spun and fired without properly aiming. A curse told him that he had hit something, and a quick glance made him almost crack up laughing as he watched York desperately trying to free his Magnum from where it had been glued to the pillar behind him. North readied his rifle, preparing to take York out, before another shot rang out and he saw York fall, his helmet covered in the paint. North saw Utah emerge from another pillar slightly behind and to the left of York. North watched him go over to inspect his handiwork, holding his gun at the ready until he was in a good position. North carefully aimed and fired, and Utah and York suddenly found themselves in a rather compromising position, frozen on the floor. It was now him and Connie.

North carefully checked his surroundings before slipping out from his cover and darting behind another pillar. He suddenly heard the tell-tale sound of a gun being cocked and he quickly threw himself into a sideways roll to avoid a blob of paint sailing straight towards his head. He turned and fired two shots blindly, before realising with a curse he had to reload, and he didn't have time to get a new clip from inside the compartment in his armour.

Connie seemed to realise he was helpless, and quickly went in for the kill. Thinking fast, North used his height to his advantage and leapt up onto one of the pillars, narrowly avoiding a glob of paint that was aimed at a part that he really didn't want to get hit. He jumped down in front of Connie and, in her moment of surprise, yanked her gun out of her hands and fired straight into her chest, which sent her flying backwards into a pillar before she toppled to the floor, solid as a rock. Above them, F.I.L.S.S's monotonous voice rang out.

"Round one over. Point awarded to North Dakota."

Some other staff members hurried out to remove the paint from the fallen agents and to unlock their armour, before round two could begin.

* * *

"Damn, man, where did you learn to shoot like that? That was incredible!" York exclaimed as they headed back to the dining hall for lunch. They had played three more rounds, with Utah managing to win one of them by accident because, while aiming for York, North had literally run across right in front of him. However, North had won the other round, which made him the overall winner and had made him ten dollars richer as well.

"I was a sniper for my squad in the army, and when I was in school I did archery and shooting as sports. Clay target shooting, that is, not real hunting." North replied with a grin.

"That doesn't surprise me! That was hilarious when you got Wash that first time!" York cackled.

"Not as hilarious as you desperately trying to free your gun from the pillar when I accidentally shot it!" North laughed. "Or when Connie shot Wash in the crotch!"

"Damn, Connie was sadistic!" Wash exclaimed, shaking his head. "I don't care if she says otherwise; I'm positive that she was deliberately aiming there!"

"Yeah, she nearly got me too," North agreed with a wince, pushing open the doors to the dining hall as they reached them. The three made a beeline to their normal table, where Maine, Wyoming and Utah were already waiting.

"How did you get here so fast? We were waiting for you in the shower room, but you never showed up!" Wash asked Utah, who shrugged.

"I was hungry," he replied, before turning back to his hamburger.

"Nice shot, by the way, getting North!" York said, sitting beside the red-clad agent and clapping him on the back. For some reason, North felt a sudden flare of jealousy when he saw York and Utah sitting so close together, before he quickly squashed it down and sat down opposite York, next to Maine. He chewed on his lunch silently, too shocked by his own reaction to partake in any of the conversation. Why did he feel so strongly against York being close to anyone else?

Suddenly, the answer hit him, like a paintball shot to the face.

North had a crush on York.

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**So, there you have it! Thank you for reading, and please leave a review! Constructive critism welcome, but no hate please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone, and welcome to chapter 5 of More than Machines!**

**WARNING: CONTAINS PRE-SLASH! Don't read if you don't like it! And if you read anyway regardless of warning, don't flame!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it!**

* * *

North knew he had to do something about his growing attraction towards York, but the other man had never shown any inclination that he felt anything beyond friendship towards North. This made North's dilemma even worse; after all, he didn't want to do anything that would jeopardise the close friendship the two shared. But he also knew he couldn't keep living like this, crushing after a fellow agent in secret, as it could start affecting his judgement, particularly in training.

However, any plans that North could possibly make were abruptly put on hold with the release of another Freelancer addition; the rankings. Suddenly, the whole Project was thrown into uproar, with every agent not in the top six furious that they hadn't made it. Carolina was at the top of the board, which came as no surprise. North had faced her in training a while ago, and she was a very formidable opponent. Second was York, who had not been expecting it, judging by the way he was standing there, staring dumbly at the bright blue names with his chin nearly scraping the floor. Wyoming was third, also not a surprise, but then North's eyebrows rose in surprise. South was number 4, followed by himself in number 5. Wash was sixth place, and that was it. No other names were shown on the board. No wonder everyone else was upset. North tore his attention away from the rankings and turned to York

"Hey, well done man! You're second!" North exclaimed, resting a hand on the tan Freelancer's shoulder. York turned with a grin.

"Yeah, you too! I don't know _how _I managed to get higher than you!" he replied, punching North in the shoulder lightly. "After all, you _own _at paintball!"

"I may be better than you at shooting, but you beat me at everything else," North responded, with not a trace of bitterness in his voice. "Anyway, South'll be happy, she might even talk to me!"

"Yeah, getting beaten by your own sister, you must really suck, dude!" Wash interjected, coming up behind them and thumping them both on the back.

"Oh well, as long as I'm officially better than you, then I'm happy," North grinned, earning himself a shove.

"Well, anyway, I gotta run! I have to meet up with somebody!" Wash said, before suddenly horror dawned on his face and he quickly turned to them with a desperate look. "I mean, I have, um, training! Yes, training, um, very important, you know, can't miss it…" he trailed off at the looks North and York shot him.

"Don't worry, we won't rat you out," North reassured with a warm smile. "Who're you seeing?" At this, Wash gave North an even guiltier look, something that North instantly picked up on. He'd seen that look before, on one of his old friends in high school, when they told him that they were dating his sister.

"Um, nobody important…" Wash trailed off again at North's disbelieving frown.

"It's South, isn't it," he said bluntly. It wasn't a question. Wash nodded sheepishly, and North gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't worry, I don't mind," he said warmly, before he grabbed hold of Wash's shoulders and bent down to stare right into his eyes, his voice taking on a deadly edge. "But if you hurt her, I swear to God, Wash…" he didn't need to finish his sentence. Wash just nodded.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt her, I promise," he said sincerely, before turning and leaving. York whistled with appreciation.

"Damn, man, you're scary when you're being overprotective!"

* * *

Shortly after the rankings were released, and after everybody had calmed down somewhat, another announcement was made; all agents were going to be receiving special armour enhancements. This caused yet another wave of excitement and hostility to run throughout the agents. North had caught wind of some of the enhancements, and some of them sounded really cool.

"I would love to get super strength or speed," York was saying, as he, North and Wash walked to their lecture together. They would soon be finding out who was getting what enhancement, and already North wanted to just hurry up and get there. They were early anyway, however, so there was absolutely no point in rushing.

"I don't know what I want to get," Wash said with a shrug. "Do you think they've invented something that lets us know when we're about to get shot at? Because I swear my head is caved in from the amount of times you've shot me, North!"

"I doubt it, but you never know," North replied.

"You'll just have to get a thicker helmet, Wash!" York grinned. Wash just rolled his eyes and muttered something about York's head being thicker than his.

"I don't really care what I get, as long as it works and doesn't blow up the second I use it," North continued in a mild voice. "And anyway, we'll find out soon enough!" He went ahead and activated the door controls for the seminar room, and the three of them found seats at the front.

Eventually, the other Freelancers started filing in, and before long the lecturer, who was also one of the scientists, entered the room.

"Good morning agents! As you all probably know, today we shall be assigning the armour enhancements. We have several enhancements on offer at the moment, and I want each of you to step forwards when your name is called." He paused for a moment while he turned on his pad, before calling out "Agent Carolina!"

The red-headed Freelancer stepped forwards eagerly, and was given a Speed unit, and a Camouflage unit.

"Agent New York!"

York was slightly disappointed to discover he had only been given a Healing unit.

"Agent Wyoming!"

Wyoming had what was probably the coolest armour enhancement yet; a Temporal Distortion unit. Naturally, there was instantly a buzz in the room.

"Agent South Dakota!"

North watched as South was given a Domed Energy Shield, and he shot her a warm smile as she made her way back up to her seat. She glanced up and, to his surprise, returned the grin. Clearly, his sister was in a good mood.

"Agent North Dakota!"

North quickly made his way down to the lecturer, and was shocked to receive two pieces of equipment. The first one that was installed turned out to be an Enhanced Motion Tracker, a way for him to literally see other people by their heat signature and movement, allowing him to pretty much look through walls. His other enhancement was another Domed Energy Shield, like his twin.

As he made his way back up to his seat, he noticed that South was no longer smiling.

Washington received a Biological Computer, or BioCom, which allowed him to check the vital signs of everyone around him ("Does that mean you're going to be perving on us, Wash?" York had asked jokingly) so that he could quickly help any wounded teammates in battle, or he could see where an enemy was wounded and aim for them. Maine received a strength enhancing unit, and Utah also received the Domed Energy Shield.

* * *

"Man, that bubble shield thing was popular!" Utah grumbled during lunch. "I mean seriously, couldn't they have given me something unique?"

"Shouldn't you be glad you got something at all?" North enquired, not looking up from where he was reading the information guide he'd been given on his armour enhancements.

"Yeah, I'm not complaining or anything, but seriously! And you can't talk, you were the only Freelancer in the whole project to get the motion tracker! I heard a couple of staff members saying it was designed only for you, because you aced all the shooting tests!" Utah protested, waving his fork around to accentuate his words. Wash quickly caught his hand and put it down before he accidentally stabbed anything other than his salad.

"Oh yeah, I did hear something like that!" York added, nudging North with his elbow. "Mr I'm-the-best-sharpshooter-in-the-world-but-I'm-all-modest-about-it!"

"I'm not _that _good!" North protested, before cheekily adding, "I'm just better than you!" In retaliation, York threw a piece of lettuce at North's face, which he barely dodged, and it landed in Wyoming's tea. Wyoming leapt up from where he was sitting beside North and lobbed a crouton back, and soon an all-out food war had started at their table.

For the moment, North was content to forget about his crush on York and just enjoy the peace.

* * *

**Well, there you go! Thank you so much for reading, and please leave a review! Nothing makes me happier! Constructive critism is always welcome and encouraged, but flames are not appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, my lovely readers, and welcome to chapter 6 of More than Machines!**

**WARNING: PRE-SLASH! Don't like? Then don't read! (although if you don't like it I doubt you'd be this far anyway)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it!**

* * *

The next day, the first round of testing for the armour enhancements began. North was one of the first, with his Enhanced Motion Tracker. He'd just watched the last of York and Wash's test, with the scientists killing two birds with one stone by having York cut his hand and then heal himself, while Wash monitored his vitals throughout. Both enhancements worked perfectly, with not even a scar left on York's palm.

Wyoming's Temporal Distortion unit had gone a little bit haywire, having accidentally backfired and caused Wyoming to pause himself rather than everything else. Luckily, the problem was swiftly fixed and nobody was hurt, although Wyoming was forbidden from using his enhancement until further testing.

South's Domed Energy Shield test had also worked well, although it was a bit smaller and thinner than it was supposed to be. However, the scientists weren't sure if it was the shield itself, or a problem with South's armour, so both were taken in for evaluation.

Carolina had proved herself an absolute badass with her super speed, but her camouflage unit had gone a little bit haywire and sometimes random parts wouldn't change colour like the rest of her. Again, both her armour and the unit had been taken in for more adjustments.

Now it was North's turn. He stood in the middle of the training room, which was set up for paintball. He had his favourite sniper rifle, which he held at the ready. He knew that several agents were now running around out in the field. None of them were armed; he just had to take them all out.

"Agent North Dakota, please activate the Enhanced Motion Tracker," F.I.L.S.S called out. North obeyed, and instantly his vision switched to something vaguely resembling thermal, except he could literally see through the walls, and everyone was outlined in green.

"Agent North Dakota, your tracker will now be set to register the other agents as hostiles. Please stand by." F.I.L.S.S continued. Suddenly, the green outlines changed to red, and North readied his rifle.

"Test begin,"

North quickly leapt up onto one of the pillars, knowing that he would have a good scope of vision when he was high up. The tracker was also set that, despite the fact he could see the outlines through walls, they would come up as yellow if they were behind something. Enemies that were in range would show up as orange.

North saw a yellow figure change to orange, and he quickly aimed at them and fired. The lockdown paint hit them square in the head. As soon as the figure stopped moving, they disappeared.

The rest of the targets were swiftly dealt with, the motion tracker being an incredible asset to his performance. Never again would he have to constantly risk getting shot in the head peeking out from behind cover. With his new addition, he would be able to survey whole areas without moving a muscle.

His next test was his Domed Energy Shield (or 'bubble shield' as Utah had dubbed it) training. It was fairly simple; just hold the shield up while turrets fired at you. The shield held fairly well, although it flickered alarmingly regularly, and North knew that this enhancement was not ready for the field.

He left the training room and was immediately greeted with slaps on the back and praise from York and Wash.

"The bubble shield was a bit shaky, but damn, you were incredible with the motion tracker!" York exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, I could see York twitch every time your shield flickered," Wash laughed, earning himself a punch in the arm.

"That was a bit worrying," North admitted, "but I can't wait to use the tracker in paintball training!" There was a pause, before York summed up his and Wash's thoughts perfectly.

"We're screwed."

* * *

A few other Freelancers completed their tests after North, and everyone eagerly watched. There were only a few enhancements that worked without a hitch, one of them being Maine's. North definitely didn't want to verse Maine in hand-to-hand combat as they watched him effortlessly pick up a Warthog and throw it across the room.

Then, it was Utah's turn. His bubble shield was a bit more advanced than the other ones, so the Director ordered a more advanced test. Previously, everyone else had been training with a pipeline hooked to the command server, but the Director gave the order that Utah would have this pipeline disconnected. Basically, Utah would be tested as if he was out in the field, and all of the Freelancers were eager to see how he went. If he passed, then that meant that missions would be starting soon.

A large crowd had gathered in the viewing area above Utah's training area. He stood in the middle of the floor, with a couple of medics and technical supervisors on standby.

"Agent Utah, you're objective is to activate the Domed Energy Shield armour enhancement and hold it for ten seconds." F.I.L.S.S announced. "Begin."

Utah activated the shield, which appeared instantly. However, it was only surrounding his helmet. At once, people started murmuring, confused.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Wash asked, turning to North, only to snap back around a wave of shock and horror rippled throughout the gathered group.

Utah was on the ground, thrashing desperately as his hands clawed at the dome around his head. The technical assistants raced over, with the medics close behind, as they desperately tried to shut off the shield. However, by the time they managed to turn off the shield, Utah was motionless on the floor.

The mood throughout the ranks of Freelancers was a sombre one. Utah had been rushed to the medical bay, but they'd been unable to revive him, and he had officially been pronounced dead. It was a massive reality check for all the agents. This equipment was dangerous.

York had suddenly become very agitated that North had the same piece of equipment, and would always become worried when North underwent another round of bubble shield (the name had stuck when Utah was still around, and was now used almost as a memorial to him) testing after it had been tweaked a bit. Unfortunately, the shield was still flickering, though not as often, so North had to relinquish his armour and enhancement once again, much to York's apparent relief.

"I'm just worried about you, man!" the tan-armoured agent had said when North had brought it up.

This gave North a tiny little spark of hope that York might feel the same way, and made him determined to find out if he was correct.

However, once again his plans were foiled when the Director called him and South to the briefing room.

* * *

**Well, there you go! Thank you all SO much for reading, and please please PLEASE leave a review! Constructive critism is always welcome, but mean comments are not!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, and welcome to chapter 7 of More than Machines! Sorry its so short! **

**WARNING: SLASH! Don't like it? Stop reading now, and forever hold your peace!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it!**

* * *

North and South stood rigidly beside each other as the Director and Counsellor entered the room. Immediately, they brought up a hologram of the Bjordinal Cryogenics Research facility, which was the area they would be infiltrating. Their objective was to enter the main computer room, hack into one of the computers and steal a whole lot of data, which apparently was very important information for Project Freelancer to have. The Director clearly emphasised the need for stealth over brute force.

"We don't want to leave behind any tracks," he had said, before dismissing them. They were to leave the next day.

The first thing North did was seek out his friends to let them know. He managed to run into Wash in the hallway.

"Oh, hey man! Good luck for tomorrow!" the grey Freelancer said as he passed, not bothering to stop to chat.

"Wait, how did you know?" North called after him.

"We were told while you were being briefed!" Wash replied over his shoulder, before he turned a corner and vanished from sight. North had a feeling that he was going to say goodbye to South.

North still hadn't found the once person he was looking for, until he returned to his quarters to find York standing outside his door, looking nervous.

"Forget your door code again?" North asked with a laugh. York shook his head.

"Actually, I was waiting for you. I… I need to talk to you," he replied, looking anxious. North gave him a concerned look, but let him in without question. York immediately sat down on North's bed, shooting a quick glance at the one picture on his nightstand. It was of him and South at their high school graduation. There was nobody else in the picture, just him and his sister looking happy that their days of torture were over. It was one of the only pictures he had of South smiling beside him.

"What is it you needed to talk to me about?" North asked, sitting down beside York. The other man sighed and ran a hand through his short black hair. He opened his mouth to speak, before hesitating.

"Whatever you need to say, say it," North said kindly. York took a deep breath.

"IthinkI'minlovewithyou," he blurted out in a rush.

"Sorry?" North asked, not quite willing to believe what he was hearing. York took another breath.

"I think I'm in love with you," he repeated. When North remained silent, he seemed to become a bit more nervous. "I mean, I know you probably don't like men, and even if you did you wouldn't like me, and that its probably against protocol to like a fellow agent and I'm probably going to get kicked out and-"

"York," North interrupted firmly, his heart fluttering.

"Yeah?"

North quickly leaned forwards and captured York's lips with his own. York's eyes flew wide with shock before slowly closing, and he moaned against North's mouth. North pressed even closer, deepening the kiss until they were both lying flat on the mattress. York retaliated by shoving his tongue into North's mouth, and they battled for dominance, before the need to breathe became too great and they parted. North was panting gently, and York looked like all of his dreams had come true. North knew exactly how he felt.

"Well, that… wasn't the reaction I expected," York said breathlessly, struggling to sit up. North took the hint and got off of him.

"Was it a bad reaction?" North asked anxiously, but his worries were swiftly dissipated when York shook his head fiercely.

"No, it was the best reaction I could have received! I just… wasn't expecting it!" York replied with a massive smile. North slid closer to him with a sly smile.

"Do you wanna try it again?"

For the rest of the afternoon, York and North alternated between packing for North's mission and making out. They only emerged from North's room for dinner, and Wash quickly picked up on the new vibe from them.

"Finally!" he cried joyfully, before holding out his hand to Wyoming. The white-armoured Freelancer frowned before pulling out a ten-dollar note and placing it in Wash's outstretched palm.

"You made bets on us?" York cried indignantly, and the others just laughed.

"The whole team was in on it! I think I tied with Connie!" Wash replied, before laughing harder at the glares he received.

"So everyone in the entire Project knows about us?" North demanded, praying to God that the Director wasn't in on the betting pool.

"Just all the Agents. And don't worry! South doesn't mind!" Wash reassured, misreading North's worries.

"I was more concerned about the Director," North said honestly. Instantly, the group sobered, glancing nervously at one another.

"Don't worry, Agents," one of the lunch staff said, clearly overhearing the conversation. "The Director doesn't mind relationships within the ranks as long as it doesn't affect your work." He gave North and York a smile. "By the way, congratulations." The others just stared at him as he walked off.

"That's probably right. If the Director was worried about his agents becoming attached, he wouldn't have allowed siblings," Wyoming spoke up. North knew that this was a good point, and nodded his thanks to the other man.

"Yeah, plus it's kinda inevitable when you have a mix of guys and girls all sharing the same quarters area!" Wash piped up again. "Now I have to let everyone know that I won the bet!"

"What did you bet?" North couldn't help but ask. Wash shot them a grin.

"That you would hook up before one of you went on a mission!" he replied, before jumping up and visiting all the tables. Before long, money was exchanging hands and people were staring at North and York. North felt a hand on his arm, and turned to see York looking at him.

"Shall we give them a show?" he asked with a wicked smile. North returned the smirk, before leaning down and capturing his new boyfriend's mouth with his own once again. Wolf whistles and cheers erupted around the dining hall, and North vaguely heard somebody shout at them to get a room, but he just tuned everyone out. At that moment, it was just him and York.

And he didn't want the moment to end.

* * *

**There you go! Thanks for reading, and please remember that this is my first time writing descriptive slash! So, to help me improve, please leave some feedback and tell me how I did!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everyone, and welcome to chapter 8 of More than Machines! This chapter was HEAPS of fun to write! **

**WARNING: SLASH AND VIOLENCE! Don't read if you don't like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it**

* * *

North woke up very early the next day to F.I.L.S.S telling him that it was time to get up and meet the Director in the main hangar. Once he was suited up he opened his door to leave and was pleasantly surprised to see a very tired-looking York standing there holding a napkin with two pieces of toast on it in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other.

"I snuck down to the dining hall and bribed one of the cooks," he said, holding out the breakfast. North smiled and gave him a kiss by way of thanks, accepting the gift happily. He chugged the coffee down and demolished the toast in record time, before giving his boyfriend a hug.

"Stay safe," York told him firmly, a warning look in his eyes. North nodded.

"I will," he promised, before giving York one last kiss and heading off. He met up with South on the way; she too was hastily stuffing a piece of toast into her mouth.

"Wash didn't bring you breakfast this morning?" North asked, a teasing glint in his eye. South snorted and rolled her eyes.

"He can barely get up at the usual time," she replied, but her voice held nothing but affection. North chuckled in response.

"I know what you mean," he grinned, before turning serious. "Are we okay to work together on this?" South just shot him a look.

"I'm hoping that's a yes," North said, before having to stop the conversation as the hangar doors came into view. They entered to see the Director and the Counsellor waiting for them. Again, the Director repeated their objective; get in, get the data, get out. Simple.

They met their pilot, a sarcastic woman called Four-Seven-Niner. She was a bit snarky but seemed nice enough, and North knew that any conversations between her and South would be… interesting, to say the least.

A technical assistant came over to them and warned them both explicitly that they were not to use their armour enhancements under any circumstances. To make up for the fact that North couldn't use his motion tracker, they gave him a modified Sniper Rifle which had thermal imaging on it. It wasn't as good, but it was better than nothing. They were also given very basic motion trackers, which were actually just like radars, in that any movement came up as a dot on their HUD. They also took a while to start up when activated, so North activated his while he was in the transport. He knew that South hadn't done the same.

They arrived at their destination, and North realised that the thermal reader on his rifle might be more useful in this scenario than anything else, as it was absolutely freezing outside. Any heat signatures, no matter how weak, would easily be picked up.

North and South had already decided that South would be the one to infiltrate the main building, while North would provide cover from a high vantage point. He let South do her own thing, and focused on climbing up onto one of the vents, which was issuing copious amounts of steam. He knew that the steam would make his thermal reader less effective, but it was good cover.

From one look through the rifle, he knew this would be a relatively simple mission. There weren't many guards about, and the patrols were regular and a far distance apart from one another. He quickly told South the details, and she replied with a short 'ok.'

He didn't hear much from South until suddenly his radio crackled to life.

"Hey, we clear?" she asked, sounding a bit breathless.

"Yes South, but watch your corners," he replied patiently. "The smoke's good for cover but it's playing hell with my thermals."

"What's the time?" she asked. North rolled his eyes; of course she'd worry about that.

"Don't worry about the time, worry about the objective," he said firmly. "Next patrol's in twenty seconds."

"Ha, I'll be gone before that," was her cocky reply. North sighed in exasperation.

"Okay, _slow down_, South. Set your motion trackers." He heard a thud, before she replied.

"Nah, takes too long," she said, as she ran into the building. Now North was getting irritated.

"South, I do not have visual in there! I can't be your eyes if I can't see!"

"Just trust me North, I got this," was her response.

"South, talk to me!"

"Not right now, North!" she hissed. "I see the objective, going to initiate transfer."

"While it's loading, set your God damn tracker!" North repeated, with a bit more force. "There's bound to be some-" he abruptly stopped, staring at his thermal imager. Two red dots were moving towards South's position. "I got something odd on thermal. Two small dots!"

"Come on, come on!" he heard South say impatiently. The two dots were right outside the door now.

"South, check your six! I think there's something in there!" North tried to get a better look at whatever was near South, but the smoke was screwing up his vision and he couldn't get a clear visual. South's end had gone quiet; she must have turned off her radio.

For a long while, North had no idea what was going on. He felt himself getting more and more worried for South's safety. He was just about to jump down and find her when he heard his radio crackle again.

"About to get loud!" was all South said, before alarms immediately started ringing. North attached his rifle to his back and jumped down.

"Well, so much for keeping quiet!" he said to himself, smashing two guards heads together to knock them out. He contacted his sister again. "South, meet me at the helipad for extraction!" he ordered.

"Roger!" She replied. "Might need a minute!" From her strained voice, North assumed she was in combat at that moment, and left her alone. Instead, he pulled out his rifle and started running towards where he knew the helipad was, taking out any guards that got in his way. He saw South on a corridor below him, taking out some guards. He saw another group of guards running up behind her. Quickly, he leapt down, rapidly firing his sniper rifle and taking a few out. He landed in a roll, during which he put away his rifle and grabbed his SMG from his hip. He fired brutally into the guard in front of him, before grabbing his shotgun out of his hands and using it to knock him into a fellow guard.

"Shotgun!" he head South call from behind him. He quickly cocked it for her.

"Catch!" he yelled, throwing it to her. From the loud bang he heard behind him, he knew she had caught it.

"Thanks!" her vaguely heard her call as he spun and took out some guards who were on a platform beside them. Suddenly, sniper shots that weren't his own rang out, and he narrowly avoided getting a bullet in the foot.

"Sniper, top of that building!" South called, as if he hadn't noticed. North quickly reloaded his rifle.

"Switch, on my mark!" he called. "Sync?"

"Sync!"

"Mark!"

Quickly, the twins swapped places, narrowly avoiding the snipers' fire. South grabbed one of the dead bodies and held it up as a shield.

"Moving!" she cried.

"Go! Go! Go!" North encouraged, running after her and firing blindly at the guards above them. South quickly threw the body in front of her.

"Watch your left!" North quickly warned, she instantly dodged without question. North fired off another couple of shots. South pulled out her Magnum and shot straight up at the guards foolish enough to look over the edge. They fell, screaming, from the roof and over the edge. South immediately went over to the door controls, while North stood in front of the door and fired at the approaching guards.

"You get the door, I'll hold them off!" he commanded, still firing.

"We're good!" South announced, just as he finished off the last one. He put away his rifle and pulled out his SMG, quickly sweeping over the bodies to make sure nobody moved, before following his sister.

South ran straight out, firing at everyone in her path. North followed behind, finishing off anyone who wasn't quite down.

"Switch!" he called, and he and South immediately spun around each other so that he was at the front. He kicked out at a soldier that got too close before crouching down and firing his SMG in a semi-circle. He felt South leap over his back and take his rifle as she went. He quickly reached up and grabbed the shotgun from her back as she landed.

"Move!" he yelled, running ahead and taking out everyone in front of him with the shotgun. There was one guy he missed, but the sound of the sniper rifle going off told him that South had got him. He ran out onto the helipad and swiftly scanned his surroundings, before seeing the groups of people all around them. He slowly lowered his shotgun; it would be useless in this situation. He heard South come up beside him, and she too lowered her weapon.

"Oh, come on!" she growled in frustration, and North shared her sentiments as he looked around.

They were completely surrounded.

* * *

**Yay! Stuff is actually happening now! As always, thank you so much for reading! Constructive critism is welcome, flames are not!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi all you wonderful people who are still reading this fic! Welcome to chapter 9 of More than Machines!**

**WARNING: VIOLENCE and a bit of COARSE LANGUAGE! No like, no read, okay?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it!**

* * *

"Well, out of the frying pan and into the fire," North said mildly, although inside his heart was racing.

"Eh, I think I could take about fifty of 'em. How about you?" South replied, just as calmly.

"How about you save your jokes until we get out of this?" North knew they needed to focus.

"Where the hell is extraction?" South exclaimed furiously. An important-looking guard standing behind a turret chose that moment to speak up.

"Attention, assholes! Stand down, you're surrounded!" North rolled his eyes; there was no need to state the obvious. "Give us the data files now! You will be taken into custody! We can either do this the easy way or the hard way! There is no escape, so just give us the damn data files!"

Just as North was wishing the stupid guy would just shut up, there was a sudden commotion, as a dark brown soldier took down all the guards on the centre platform. The soldier quickly grabbed the turret and started firing at the supports holding the other platforms up.

"Get down!" North cried, grabbing South and shielding her with his own body as the bullets flew over their heads. He heard the firing stop, and saw that most of the guards that had been on the platforms had fallen onto the helipad. He looked up, and got a good look at who had rescued them for the first time.

"Son of a bitch," he groaned.

"What's going on?" South demanded, also looking up.

"It's her," North replied, motioning with his head.

"What?" South snapped, following his gaze. "What's _she_ doing here?"

The other Freelancer, Carolina, finished off a few more guards before leaping down to land in front of them, her armour changing back to its normal blue. North assumed her Camouflage unit had been repaired, or she got lucky.

"Ok, my turn," she said, before throwing herself into battle. North and South followed her example, leaping in and taking out as many soldiers as they could. North now found that the shotgun was incredibly useful in the close-range fight, and soon bodies were littering the floor. Suddenly, he looked up to see that the annoying turret guard and gotten to his feet and was now aiming the turret directly at South. North knew there was only one thing to do.

"South! Look out!" he yelled, throwing himself forwards and knocking her out of the way. He saw the bullets coming towards him, and he braced himself.

But nothing could have prepared him for the pure _agony _that shot through him as they hit. The bullets tore clean through his chest armour, penetrating deep into his skin. He couldn't help but cry out from the pain, falling backwards. He could feel blood running down his stomach, soaking his under-suit, but he was too far gone to notice. He vaguely heard South shout his name, and saw her run over to him.

"I gotcha," she said, as he felt himself being lifted. Every tiny movement of his body sent another jolt of pain through his body, and he gritted his teeth to keep from crying out. South looped his arm over her shoulder and slowly helped him to walk over to the edge. When they got close, she quickly shoved him forwards into the edge.

"Move!" she ordered. Another shout of agony was ripped from him as he slammed against the barrier. Despite the pain, he still managed to lift his arm and fire at anyone who came near.

"Come in Command!" he heard South shout. "We have wounded! You need to get us out of here! Right now!" Then North felt himself being grabbed on the shoulder, and heard Carolina's voice.

"Come on, you two, we're leaving!" she said before he was pulled over the edge. South's cry of "no!" told him that she'd been yanked off as well.

There was a few heart-stopping moments where he felt himself fall, before suddenly they hit something solid. North couldn't stop the scream of agony that tore from his mouth as he landed on his injured chest. He felt hands on him, lifting him up, but his vision was black. There was a roaring in his ears, and he could barely make out Carolina's voice, but what he did hear sounded distorted, like he was underwater.

He eventually regained enough sense to half crawl, half drag himself over to the hatch to get into the Pelican. South climbed down the ladder first, before helping him down and almost carrying him over to one of the seats, dumping him down and hitting the button to activate the harness. He hung there limply for a while, regaining his strength and waiting for the worst of the pain to subside. It didn't, but he got better at ignoring it.

Suddenly, he heard South announce that they had company, before his suddenly white dots filled his vision and pain exploded over his chest as the Pelican made an abrupt movement and he was slammed into the restraints holding him in his seat. He noted with some amusement the conversation between the pilot and South, before the pilot slammed the door in South's face. The ship suddenly jerked again, and South was sent flying across the room, slamming her head on one of the seats and falling, motionless. North looked up with alarm, before suddenly hearing the pilot warning everyone to hold on. There were a few more bangs and crashes, before Carolina's urgent voice cut through the haze of pain.

"Countermeasures depleted! North, get moving! I'm clearing you for equipment usage!" she commanded. North flinched; she wanted him to use the bubble shield.

"Whatever you're gonna do back there, do it fast!" Four-Seven-Niner called. North struggled to get up, before reaching up and wrenching off his helmet to shut up the warnings he was getting. He gently picked up South's unconscious form and placed her in a seat, strapping her in.

"Stay safe, kiddo," he murmured gently, before laboriously dragging himself up the ladder onto the top of the Pelican, ignoring his body's angry protests. He hauled himself upright, using the magnets in his boots to keep his feet firmly planted on the ship.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said to himself, as the enemy Longswords let off another barrage of missiles. He pulled his arm back and slammed it onto the Pelican below him, crouching down as the shield erupted around him and the ship. The missiles hit it, but didn't break through, although the ship was roughly thrown off course from the impact, and started a terrifying nosedive towards the sea below. Luckily, the pilot managed to get the ship straightened, and the last thing North remembered was searing heat from all around him, and himself falling back down the hatch into the Pelican, before everything went black.

* * *

**Right! There you are, North's first mission is over! Thank you very much for reading, and I do hope you'll leave a review! Constructive critism is VERY welcome, but flames, as always, are not!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi everybody, and welcome to chapter ten of More than Machines! **

**WARNING: CONTAINS SLASH AND ENOUGH FLUFF TO STUFF A PILLOW! Don't like, don't read, don't flame. Very simple.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it**

* * *

North woke up feeling groggy and confused. He soon realised there was something holding his hand, and forced his eyes open. He wanted to turn his head, but it felt like every muscle in his body was made of lead. He tried again, wanting to see the person beside him, but the second he shifted pain stabbed through his chest and he groaned. He heard the sound of a chair clattering to the floor, and suddenly York's anxious face came into view above him.

"North?" York asked worriedly, looming over him. North tried to speak, but all that came out was a dry cough, and he swallowed with some difficulty. York, being the angel he was, grabbed a cup of water from a table beside the bed and, using his free hand to lift North's head, gently helped him take a few sips.

"Hey… York…" North rasped, finally finding his voice, as his head was gently placed back on the pillow. He swore he saw York's eyes moisten, but then decided he was just delirious; York never cried.

"How do you feel?" York asked softly. There was definitely a quaver in his a voice. North wondered what drugs the medics had used.

"Like…shit…" was his reply, and York made a choked sound, like a cross between a laugh and a sob. North blinked hard, and studied his boyfriend's face more closely. York's eyes were red and there were dark bags under them -it was clear he hadn't gotten much sleep recently- but what really surprised North were the definite tear tracks down York's cheeks. North frowned, and immediately York was at attention.

"What's wrong? Are you in pain? Do you want me to get the medic?" he asked worriedly. North shook his head, and immediately regretted it.

"You're… crying…?" he asked instead, wanting desperately to wipe away the marks down York's cheek. York sniffled.

"I thought you were going to die." He said softly, taking North's hand again. "I was so scared I was going to lose you. When I heard you'd had to use your enhancement…" he trailed off. They shared a moment of silence for how lucky North was.

"So what's…wrong…with me?" North managed to choke out. York winced.

"Aside from the obvious?" he said, in a lame attempt at humour. North cracked a smile. "When you used your shield, it put a lot of strain on your armour, and it overheated. You've got some pretty painful-looking burns… You're under-suit had seared itself onto your skin in some areas, and it had to be cut off. The rest of it is now pretty charred…" York took a shuddering breath, and then continued. "You were in a coma for three days and… and I thought…" he fell silent.

"You… sat with… me… that whole… time?" North asked weakly. York nodded. "You're an… idiot," he chastised. York laughed/sobbed again.

"And the pot calls the kettle black," he said, before standing up. "I'm going to let the medic know you're awake, and then I'll be back." He promised, before turning and leaving.

North didn't have to wait long before York returned, this time with the medic in tow. The medic did a quick check up before putting more painkillers into North's drip.

"Don't worry, these will work very quickly but they won't knock you out," the medic reassured when he saw North's annoyed look. He turned to York and motioned for him to follow. Now that the painkillers were kicking in, North found he could move his head with less pain, and he turned in time to see the medic handing York a slip of paper and a bottle, and York nodded before disappearing down the hallway behind them. The doctor then went into another room.

York came back in fairly soon, with Wash and South following a bit more hesitantly. North smiled at both of them.

"Hey…Wash…Sis," he greeted softly, as York sat down beside his bed and took his hand again. Wash just grinned at him like he always did.

"Hey, North. I see someone finally managed to get you, hey?" Wash teased. North managed a harsh bark of laughter, before pain shot through him and he screwed his eyes shut, clenching his jaw against the groan that threatened to escape him. Immediately, York was up, gently laying a hand on his forehead and asking if he was okay, and if he needed the medic. Eventually, the pain subsided, and he weakly brushed away York's concerns.

"I'm fine, York," North reassured, his voice a bit stronger. He saw movement behind York, and looked past him to see South step forwards.

"North, I- I just wanted to say… thanks, for saving me," she said hesitantly. "It means a lot to me that you'd risk your life like that." North smiled warmly.

"Any time, sis… any time," he replied.

"I hope not!" York cried, although there was a touch of amusement in his voice.

Suddenly, North could feel his eyelids getting heavy, and they started fluttering shut.

"Looks like it's time for a nap!" York said gently, leaning down and kissing his boyfriend on the forehead. North vaguely heard the others leaving the hospital room.

"Love you," North murmured sleepily, before falling instantly asleep, missing York's quiet gasp of surprise.

He also missed York pressing another kiss to his forehead, whispering "I love you too, North."

* * *

**And there you have it! Sorry, its unbelievable short, and I'm quite ashamed of it, but I couldn't think of any more to add! As always, thanks for reading and please leave a review! Like it? Hate it? Let me know! Constructive critism is loved, but flames are not!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone, and a _huge _thank you Galuran 093, for giving me a wonderful review and the feedback I needed to give me the confidence to post this chapter!**

**So, without furthur ado, here is chapter eleven of More than Machines!**

**WARNING: MINOR SLASH! Don't like, don't read!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it**

* * *

North was released from the medics care after only a few days, but was under strict instructions to rest unless he was doing one of his designated physiotherapy sessions. York shadowed him as much as he could, doing as much as he could to ensure North was comfortable.

Eventually, North was deemed fit for release from bed rest, and could begin proper training once again. He was wandering down the hallway to the training room, when he saw Wash further ahead. He quickly hurried his steps.

"Hey, Wash, wait up!" he called. Wash turned and tilted his head. "Listen, I heard you had a meeting with internals." North continued.

"Oh, you did?" Wash asked, surprised.

"Yeah, can I ask what it was about?" he continued. Wash shrugged.

"I'm not really supposed to talk about it," Wash replied apologetically.

"Help me out here," North sighed, coming to a stop and turning away. "I'm still getting heat about using equipment in the field." It was true; the Director and Counsellor had come in while he was in the medical bay and lectured him. Wash immediately halted and whirled to look at him.

"You did? Really?" he cried. "Without a pipeline back to the command server?"

"I had to improvise," North admitted with a shrug. "We had a problem."

"Were you related to the problem?" Wash asked, with a touch of amusement. North put his hands up.

"Okay, now I don't wanna talk about it," he said defensively. Wash just shook his head.

"Equipment in the field," he continued. "You know what happened to Utah in training! You're lucky it didn't kill you!"

"If I was lucky, I wouldn't have needed to use it at all!" North shot back, not happy with the way the conversation had turned.

Wash, seeming to realise that this topic was going nowhere, started telling North about some of the things that had been discussed in the meeting, when the sound of running footsteps distracted him, and one of the employees ran into him.

"Oh, sorry sir!" he quickly said, before turning to keep going. Wash quickly grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait, soldier! What's going on? Why is everybody running?" he demanded.

"New recruit! He's going up against Maine, Wyoming and York on the training room floor! We're going to watch!" he answered breathlessly, before running off, shouting "hey, wait for me!"

"Three on one?" North asked, amazed.

"Wow, I gotta see this!" Wash said excitedly.

"Yeah, right behind you!"

* * *

They arrived in time to watch the first round with the feudal sticks. South was already watching, and Wash immediately gravitated to her side. They all watched in amazement as the black recruit took down all three agents without any real issue, and North knew firsthand how good they were.

"What's going on down there?" Everyone turned to see Carolina enter. "There's no training session on the schedule!"

"It's impromptu," South replied. Carolina leaned forward to get a better look.

"Who the hell is that?" she demanded. South shrugged.

"Some new recruit," she answered. They fell silent, watching as the recruit had York, Maine and Wyoming on the floor yet again.

"Wow, he sure doesn't move like a recruit!" Wash commented, impressed.

"Why do you assume it's a guy?" South demanded. "_She's _a girl!" Wash immediately put his hands up in surrender.

"Oh, I didn't mean to say that he- I mean it- I mean _her_… I-" Wash stumbled, trying to rectify his mistake and failing miserably. North just chuckled and slapped a palm to his face.

"Right," South said sarcastically, although there was definitely a trace of amusement in her voice.

"Sorry," Wash said, dropping his hands.

"Just shut up," South sighed in exasperation.

"Both of you, can it!" Carolina told them shortly. South turned to her.

"I think someone might be a little concerned about their position!" she chuckled.

"Hey South, pay attention!" Carolina snapped. "You might actually learn something if you stopped running your mouth for a minute!"

North tuned out their conversation and just focused on the battle going on down below. The new recruit had totally trashed her opponents in the feudal sticks.

"Round one over." F.I.L.S.S announced. "Feudal sticks training complete. Point awarded to Texas. The current score is: Team 1, zero points. Texas, one point."

"Texas, huh?" Wash asked.

"I thought that name was reserved," Carolina stated. North could hear the frown in her voice.

"Nice moves," Wash continued. Carolina grunted.

"Could be luck. We'll see," she said.

Hand-to-hand combat started after that. North watched as York tried to negotiate with Maine and Wyoming, only to have them ignore him and just charge in.

North could tell York was getting more and more frustrated as Maine and Wyoming kept ignoring him and they kept on getting knocked to the ground. Eventually, Texas had overwhelmed them, and the round was declared over.

Then, it was time for the lockdown paint.

* * *

**So, there you go! Please leave a review so that I know to keep writing! Constructive critism is very welcome, but flames are not!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi guys, and welcome to chapter twelve of More than Machines! I'd like to start with a _HUGE _thank you to BeccaShannon and Galuran-093 for their wonderful reviews! **

**Warning: Some violence, coarse language, mild slash**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it!**

* * *

The training session started off normal. The agents all grabbed their guns and paintball ammo; for this test, everyone had Magnums, so that everyone was on equal grounds. F.I.L.S.S called the round to a start, and instantly York, Maine and Wyoming ducked behind the blocks. York seemed to be trying to tell them something, when Maine suddenly ran out and was instantly shot down. Wyoming did the same.

North wanted to strangle them for York's sake. He watched as York skilfully made his way through the pillars, expertly dodging and picking strategic cover. North felt a surge of pride at the sight; Texas would have a hard time taking him down.

However, he soon realised that even the best made mistakes, and he winced when York ran right into Texas, and before he could defend himself his gun was snatched out of his hand and he was shot point-blank in the face. North sighed as York toppled over, and F.I.L.S.S announced that Texas had won the round.

The agents had their armour cleaned and unlocked, before they were cleared for round two. Once again, York tried to formulate a plan, and once again he was ignored in favour of charging out. They were almost immediately shot down, and North winced in sympathy for York, who was once again left without backup. He watched as York used all of his skills to find Texas and get her, but, while ducking behind cover, North saw the black Freelancer come up behind him and press her Magnum into the back of his head. York froze, and there was a moment of suspense before Texas fired and York's entire helmet was covered with the pink and purple paint.

"Round two over. Point Texas." F.I.L.S.S monotone, and North watched as the agents were once again cleaned off and prepared for round three.

The rounds passed, with Texas getting the better of them every time. At one point York seemed to give up on talking sense into his teammates and leapt in with them, and all three were shot down virtually instantly. North winced when York was sent toppling backwards over the pillar he'd just jumped over, landing in a rather spectacular faceplant.

At one point North held his breath as York met Texas faced each other head on, where York managed to knock Texas' Magnum out of her hand. For a moment, it really looked like he was going to win, before Texas demonstrated her incredible abilities by kicking her dropped Magnum up into York's face, before grabbing his hand holding the Magnum and forcing him to shoot himself… in a very bad spot.

There was a collective exclamation of sympathy from North and Wash at the sight.

Finally, it was time for round nine, with Texas absolutely destroying the others with a score of 8-0. North watched as York went to grab more paintball ammo for his pistol, but then noticed something strange; Wyoming and Maine hadn't picked up paint ammo. If fact, it almost looked like-

_Bang! Bang! _The shots rang out. Texas frantically ran from pillar to pillar as the bullets destroyed them..

"What? Are they using live ammo on the training room floor?" Wash demanded loudly.

"Looks like it," South said, a hint of surprise.

"But that's against protocol! They're gonna kill her!" Wash cried.

"Probably," Connie, or CT, as she now preferred, replied calmly. Her voice surprised North; he hadn't heard her come in.

"Someone should get the Director!" Wash said firmly, though he didn't move. CT just laughed.

"The Director?" she asked condescendingly, "who do you think gave them the ammo?"

"Watch your mouth, CT!" Carolina snapped. CT just returned her gaze to the training room, where things were getting more and more heated. Poor York was desperately trying to avoid friendly fire, and North felt a flare of anger at their recklessness. Somebody was going to get hurt!

North watched as York managed to get to Texas, and they seemed to talk for a moment, before Maine appeared, firing at them both. Texas quickly kicked York away and jumped into the fight, shooting madly and managing to stick Maine's fist into one of the pillars.

Suddenly, Wyoming managed to shoot her in the shoulder. She immediately lashed out, beating the crap out of him, before shooting him and then slamming his head into a pillar. North felt a smirk of satisfaction tug at his lips.

York ran out in an attempt to beat Texas, but she merely knocked him away. As he was struggling to get up, Maine managed to free himself and he smashed into the pillar that Wyoming was stuck in. Large chunks of debris went flying everywhere, one of them hitting York square in the head, knocking him back on the ground. Texas quickly shot Maine, locking up his top half. However, as he fell, North noticed something in his hand.

"Is that a-" he was cut off by a surge of panic as Maine threw the grenade, missing Texas. The armed grenade landed a few metres away; right next to York. Still dazed from two hits to the head, York hadn't even noticed the danger he was in.

"York!" North shouted, but it was no use. Texas quickly shot York all over, locking his armour up, just as the grenade exploded, sending York flying. He crashed to the ground, motionless.

"Shit!" North yelled, bolting for the door.

"Dammit, those maniacs!" Wash cried, following. North vaguely registered Carolina calling for a medical team, but he was too desperate to get to York to notice.

Once they reached the training floor, North bolted over to York's side. However, before he could get near him, the medical team had already arrived, and he was shoved out of way.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Wash asked in concern, as York groaned.

"I can't believe she did that to him," South muttered, shaking her head. "Shot his armour, sacrificed him…"

"Lockdown hardens the armour," Wash reminded her gently. "She probably saved his life."

"Quick thinking," North murmured, looking down at his injured partner.

"Yeah, real quick," Carolina muttered sarcastically, watching Texas as she was helped out of the training room.

"Everyone, stand down, now!" Everyone swiftly stood at attention in a line as the Director stormed in, followed by the Counsellor. He glared at each of them. "You should be ashamed of yourselves! I expect you to act as a team!"

"They used live ammunition on the floor, sir," Wash defended. "That's against regulation!"

"Do you think our enemies will care about regulation on the battlefield, Agent Washington?" The Director demanded, getting right into Wash's face and forcing him to take a step back.

"So, you're not punishing them?" he asked hesitantly.

"Ingenuity and adaptability are admirable traits," the Director answered firmly. "You should all learn something from this. Dismissed." The Director turned on his heel and left, the Counsellor following behind quickly. North and the rest immediately relaxed and watched as the medics took York away. CT leaned in close to Wash.

"Yeah, you should learn something alright." She said sarcastically.

"I can't believe this!" Wash exclaimed, shaking his head. CT brushed past him on her way out.

"Don't forget to check your place on that list, Wash," she muttered, before stalking out. North knew that there was something more behind that conversation, but didn't really care at the moment. He quickly hurried off in the direction that the medics had taken York. He had to get to him.

That was the only thing that mattered.

* * *

**There you go! Thank you so much for reading, and please leave a review! Constructive critism is welcome, flames are not!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi guys, its me again (finally!) with chapter thirteen of More than Machines! First of all I must sincerely apologise for the dreadful wait you guys have had to endure for this next chapter! With writer's block, school and equestrian commitments I was having absolutely no luck with this chapter! Luckily, I got inspiration to edit my oneshot 'Waiting' so that it reads more like a missing scene from between chapter 9 and 10 of this fic.**

**I do hope this chapter is up to your standards, though I do apologise if it seems a bit choppy because I did stop and start many times throughout its writing!**

**But anyway, now that its here, please enjoy!**

**Warning: Slash!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it**

* * *

It was a couple of hours before the medics would let North in to see York. He spent those hours alternating between pacing frantically and just sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. Now he understood how York must have felt when he was in the med-bay after being shot.

At that current moment, North was sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair, just staring at the floor with his fingers knotted in his hair. His helmet sat on the chair beside him, forgotten. There was still a little bit of dried blood smudged in the top corner of the visor.

North heard another door open, but he didn't look up. He knew it wasn't York's door. However, he did look up when he saw black armoured feet approaching him, and felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you don't look so good," Texas commented, a sarcastic undertone to her voice. North just stared at her blankly, before he turned to look through the window on the door to York's room. All he could see was a cluster of medics around the bed, and York's feet.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Texas snapped, bringing North's attention back to her. She reminded him of one of his teachers back in high school.

"What do you want, Texas?" North sighed, picking up his helmet and turning it in his hands.

"Aren't you going to thank me?" she demanded. North gave her a confused look. "You know, for saving your friend?"

"I'll thank you when I see he's okay," he replied bitterly, not in the mood for chatter. "And he's not my friend."

At that moment, one of the medics came out of the room. North immediately jumped to his feet and shot the medic a questioning look. The medic motioned for him to follow, and North complied without hesitation. Before he went in, he looked over his shoulder at Texas.

"He's more than that."

* * *

North sat with York for hours, holding his hand and talking to him quietly, pleading for him to wake up. He gently stroked the bandages over York's eye, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

At that moment, North was slumped in his chair, almost falling asleep. He leaned over and rested his head on York's chest, soothed by the steady heartbeat beneath his ear. However, just before North slipped off to sleep, he felt a twitch in his hand. He jolted back to awareness and tentatively squeezed York's hand, and gasped when he felt a soft squeeze in return. The relief that flooded through him from that simple movement was enough to make his eyes moisten, and he blinked rapidly to clear his vision.

"Nick…?" York asked softly, and North felt a pang at the name. He quickly forced a smile, though he knew York couldn't see it.

"Its North, York," he softly reminded. "I'm here."

"North…" York softly breathed, slowly falling unconscious. North waited until he was definitely asleep, before he allowed the tears that filled his eyes to drip down. He felt a sob attempting to force its way out of his throat, but he gritted his teeth and swallowed it down, not wanting to wake York.

Instead he turned his attention to York's words. He had called him Nick. North hadn't realised how deep he was in Project Freelancer until that moment. He had felt only a small pang of recognition, the sort you got when you heard a familiar-sounding name. In fact, it had taken his brain a moment to register that _he _was Nick.

Suddenly, he felt like he didn't know himself anymore.

* * *

It wasn't until the next day that York woke up again. York no longer had bandages wrapping all the way around his head. Instead, he only had a mass of gauze over his injured eye, so North could see his uninjured eye starting to flutter open, before opening fully. York lay there for a while, staring blankly at the ceiling. North began to worry.

"York?" he asked hesitantly. York turned slightly, and his good eye focused on North's face. Suddenly, a very fine trembling began to overtake his body, and his eye reflected fear.

"North?" he said, his voice shaking.

"Yes?" North replied, growing concerned as the trembling grew worse.

"I..I can't… I can't see!" York gasped out, looking on the edge of panic. "I can't see!" His good eye began flicking around wildly, and he began feeling around with his left hand. North gently took the hand, and York reeled back as if he'd been stung. North quickly withdrew his hand.

"Who..? Who's there?" York demanded, turning his head, trying to focus.

"It's me, York. It's North. I'm here," North gently reassured, moving around the bed to York's right side. Immediately, York relaxed a bit, now that he was able to see him.

"I'm sorry," York apologised. North shook his head.

"Why are you apologising? You haven't done anything."

"You shouldn't have to see me like this," York replied softly, sounding defeated. North immediately leaned over and gave him a hug, careful of his left side. Even so, York still tensed up a bit, and North instantly went to back off. York grabbed his arm.

"No, its fine, its just…" York shrugged helplessly.

"That damn left side?" North asked with a laugh. York managed a smile.

"Yeah, that damn left side."

* * *

The day that York had the bandages taken off was also a stressful one. North couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy as he remembered watching all of York's hopes be crushed as he realised that he still couldn't see out of his left eye. He couldn't get the vision of York's strong façade crumbling as the gauze was removed. North could also remember the monumental effort it had taken to not react at the sight of the scarring around the eye, which had turned completely white. However, he had not been able to supress the gasp of horror, but York had been too busy staring blankly into a mirror to notice.

Now, however, the Director had ordered North to join the team in the briefing room, and he was forced to leave York's hospital room.

The briefing was short, but dull, and North could feel his thoughts drifting back to York in the hospital. He briefly focused in time to realise there would be two teams, and wasn't surprised to find out that he wasn't in Team A; after all, with the amount of time he had taken off training to stay with York, he had been waiting for the announcement that he'd been kicked off the board. Instead, he noticed York had been moved down to sixth on the board; clearly the Director thought he was too good to be kicked off, even with his disability.

As he was laughing at Wash getting stuck with lock-picking duty, he heard the door open. He spun around to see York entering.

"Hey, don't be so quick to give away my job!" he protested, stepping forward. Carolina immediately ran to greet him, and North cringed in his helmet. He had been on the receiving end of many a rant from York about how Carolina couldn't get the hint that he was taken.

"I thought you were in the hospital," Carolina said, worry dripping from her voice.

"According to their records, I am," York replied dryly, brushing off her concerns.

"How's your eye?" Carolina persisted.

"Docs're letting me out tomorrow," he answered jovially, once again dodging her question. He moved past her and stood next to North, deliberately placing him on his left. North was touched; for York to allow him to be near his bad side was a significant show of trust.

"Tomorrow, huh?" Wash asked sarcastically. North couldn't help but agree.

"Look, I couldn't let you guys have all the fun without me!" York shrugged. "Besides, you need someone to get you in." Wash just sighed, before turning to Carolina as she retook her place at the table.

"Listen, I'm happy to see him too, but this mission… I don't know…"

"Hey, if York says he's good, he's good!" Carolina snapped. Wash put his hands up in a placating gesture.

"It's your call, boss," he said defensively. Carolina turned to York.

"You're good, right?" she asked quietly.

"Look, I said I was _okay_. Good might be overselling it a little." North turned to York in concern, but before he could speak the Director cut in.

"It's settled then. York will join Team A and get them in the facility."

"Thank you, sir!" York said, before Carolina took to the floor and began speaking again.

"Transport will be two lightly-equipped Pelican drop ships."

"We're rigged for fast running only, people," the pilot, Four-Seven-Niner, spoke up. "No heavy armaments."

"Team B will be North, Wyoming and C.T." Carolina continued. "You will act as recon for Team A and once we enter the building, you will disengage and attack the target on the freeway. North will lead Team B."

"Got it," North said in surprise. He had definitely not been expecting to be a team leader. He heard a quiet 'good job' from York, and he smiled, before turning his attention back to the briefing as they talked about the objective, and the mysterious object they had to receive called 'the Sarcophagus.' North suddenly understood why he and South had gone on that mission, the one that had led to him getting shot. He spoke up that he recognised the markings on the object, and he felt York tense up beside him at the mention of that particular mission. Then, they were dismissed, and North and York quickly headed to their rooms to pack.

For some reason, North couldn't seem to shake the feeling that this new mission was more than it seemed.

* * *

**Whew, finally! Once again, sorry for the terrible delay, and I'll hope you'll leave a review! Constructive critism is welcome and encouraged, flames are most definitely not!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi guys, and welcome to chapter fourteen of More than Machines! Also, great news! I have a beta! Many thanks to the wonderful One Over Infinity for agreeing to beta-read this story! With their help, maybe I might actually post decent action scenes!**

**Warnings: Slash!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it!**

* * *

North couldn't help but feel guilty as he watched South storm off into her room. Clearly, she had been told that she would not be joining the mission. As he debated going over to talk to her, he was interrupted by a bang and a muffled curse from the dorm beside him.

"You need a hand, York?" North asked, walking over to the door.

"No, I'm fine!" York called back. North rolled his eyes when he heard another bang, and reached over to York's door controls. He quickly typed in the code '05296' and the door slid open. He entered so see York sitting on his bed, inspecting his foot.

"You okay?" North asked, stepping in. York glanced up, and North barely managed to keep his face straight when he saw York's pout.

"It's that damn left side," he grunted, then smirked at the inside joke. North chuckled, before crouching down to have a look at the foot. York yanked it away.

"I can look after myself!" he said with playful irritation. North just smiled and retreated.

"You hit the bedside table again?" he asked, grinning. York threw a sock at him, which missed totally. North would have laughed at the attempt, but instead he sobered, staring at York seriously.

"Are you sure you can handle the mission?" he asked. York shot him a look, then sighed.

"To be honest, I'm not sure…" he trailed off, then straightened his shoulders. "But I have to. It's my duty." York paused for a moment, before a cheeky look crept over his face. "Besides, I can't leave the task of breaking in to Wash! They'd be screwed!"

"I can't deny that!" North laughed. "Just make sure they don't start throwing grenades around, okay?" York just grinned, pulling himself up off his bed and taking North's hand. "Now come on, it's time for last-minute training!"

* * *

North was in a great mood, and not just because his enhanced motion tracker had officially been cleared for use in the field. No, the reason for his excitement was that York had announced that he was able to detect changes of light in his injured eye. He still couldn't see anything, but he could tell when something was in front of him, and it made his life so much easier. York's happiness was infectious, and soon the two had been walking around the ship grinning from ear to ear. Finally, there was hope that York may regain some semblance of vision in his left eye.

"Oh man, I can't wait for this mission!" York enthused, a broad smile on his face. North nodded in agreement, before remembering York couldn't see him; York preferred having North on his left side, so that he didn't have to worry about it.

"Yeah, me too," North agreed mildly, still unable to quench the feeling of dread that had settled in his stomach. York seemed to pick up on his tone.

"What's up?" he asked, sounding concerned. North just sighed.

"It's nothing, don't worry. I just want to get going," he reassured. York still didn't look convinced, but he didn't pry.

"Right… well, anyway, we'd better get to the mess hall before Wash eats everything!"

Tensions were high in the dining hall. The Agents who were going on the mission were receiving cold looks from those who weren't. South had been avoiding North like the plague, and it seemed like her relationship with Wash was in jeopardy, if the way Wash had been glancing at her longingly all throughout lunch.

"Damn, it looks like this mission is really messing with everyone," York muttered, motioning towards Wash, who was staring blankly at his plate, pushing his food around instead of eating it.

"Yeah…" North sighed, resting an arm on York's shoulders and gently toying with his hair. York gave a contented sigh and leaned into the touch, ignoring the quiet chuckles coming from the rest of the table at the display.

"So, North, I heard your tracker got the green light," Wyoming commented, attempting to keep his moustache out of his tea. North just nodded, too busy fixing York's hair into its normal style, with the front brushed up.

"Yep!" York spoke up for him instead, offering the purple-armoured Freelancer a proud smile. "He's the first to have his enhancement cleared!" He punctuated this statement by pressing a kiss to North's lips. Maine rolled his eyes, and made a coughing noise that sounded suspiciously like 'saps'.

"It's not that big a deal," North elaborated modestly, removing his hand from York's hair but still keeping his arm wrapped around him. "It's just slightly more advanced than a normal radar, honestly!"

"Yeah, but it was made specifically for you!" Wash interjected, joining the conversation. North just shook his head with a sigh.

"So anyway, what're the plans, Wash?" York asked. "I missed the first part of the briefing, so I'm not a hundred percent sure what exactly is going on."

As Wash launched into his explanation of the mission plans, North turned his attention elsewhere. He still couldn't shake the sensation that something wasn't right with Project Freelancer, and that this mission was no exception.

* * *

Before he knew it, North was sitting in the Pelican as it cruised over a high-rise city, heading for their destination. Team A – and York – were in a different Pelican beside them. As the leader of Team B, he had a link with Command, and was receiving orders directly from them. For now, he was waiting for the signal that Team A was clear to go.

A green light appeared in his HUD, and he reached for his radio.

"Team A, you look clear. Window is open. Start your clocks on my mark… Mark." North stated. A moment later, Carolina's voice filtered through.

"Sync. Roger that. Team A is moving." North watched as the other Pelican veered off, heading towards the huge building that towered over the whole city.

"Copy that Carolina," he replied, before thinking of York and adding "good luck, Team A."

"Thanks. We won't need it," Carolina answered, before her end went silent. North turned to the rest of his team.

"Alright, Bravo, let's move out. We have three minutes until first alert. Let's have our target in hand by two." The other agents stood and grabbed their weapons as the Pelican began to descend. The back hatch opened once they had landed, and Team B stepped out. The place was deserted and quiet.

Too quiet.

* * *

**Yes, I am evil! *dodges bricks***

**Thanks for reading, and please leave a review! Constructive critism is encouraged, flames are not!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi guys, and welcome to chapter fifteen of More than Machines! Big action stuff this chapter and next one! **

**Warning: Violence**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it**

* * *

The parking lot they had landed in appeared completely deserted. Cautiously, North stepped out into the open. Nothing moved. He vaguely registered Wyoming and CT following quietly. He jumped when he heard the roar of engines behind him, and watched as their Pelican took off. There was no backing out now.

Suddenly, he heard a faint sound to his left, like somebody shifting their position. He took cover behind a car and activated his enhanced motion tracker, and instantly his vision changed to the strange thermal-like view. He stiffened in shock; there were red outlines everywhere, hiding in every available cover. There were even some in drains.

"What do you see?" Wyoming hissed. North looked over at him.

"Hostiles. Lots of hostiles," he murmured, pulling out his rifle and carefully loading it.

"Where?" CT asked, also preparing her weapon.

"Everywhere."

Wyoming shuffled over and peeked around the side of the car they were using as cover. Immediately, he jerked his head back as a sniper round shot past. And then, suddenly, everything turned to chaos.

Soldiers seemed to be pouring out from everywhere. North deactivated his tracker and lifted his rifle. He used the end of it to smash open the car's windows while CT and Wyoming leapt out into the fight. North shot as many people as he could through the windows, while the others demonstrated their skill in close combat.

Suddenly, he heard the signature click of a shotgun, and he barely managed to throw himself sideways as a bullet that would have ended up in his skull instead hit the car with enough force to tear through the door. North swiftly regained himself and swiped his sniper rifle at the soldier's legs, using its long scope to his advantage. The soldier was briefly unbalanced, but he didn't fall. It did, however, give North a window of time to jump to his feet and lash out with his rifle again, catching his opponent on the side of the head. The other soldier staggered, before pulling out a knife and lunging forwards. He threw a punch aiming for the left, and North quickly ducked. And he was glad he did, because the hand with the knife had immediately stabbed where he would have been had he gone right. North backed away a bit, and the soldier immediately charged towards him, knife raised. North lifted his leg and kicked him square in the chest, before shooting him blindly several times. He didn't wait to see if he had survived.

CT and Wyoming had well and truly disappeared into the fray. North ran to join them, putting away his rifle in favour of his SMG. He started firing as soon as he was in range, punching and kicking everyone who wasn't quite down. He managed to fight his way through quite a few soldiers, occasionally catching glimpses of his teammates amongst the pandemonium.

As North was fighting, he couldn't help but notice that some of his enemies were policemen. When he had been young, he'd always seen the police as heroes, and that had never changed. But now he was fighting them. Was he a villain now?

He didn't have time to think much longer as a rather vicious soldier came charging at him, brandishing a Gravity Hammer. North immediately recoiled, but wasn't fast enough. The shockwave created sent him flying back, and he smashed into a rolled over car. He felt his chest starting to ache, particularly where there were still scars from his last mission. He grimaced; he had forgotten that he was still healing from that. North quickly ducked behind the car and crouched down low as he heard the hammer come down again. The car was flung up and over him, just scraping the top of his back. North quickly pulled his rifle out and fired before the hammer could charge back up. Later, he would swear that it was a pure fluke, but the bullet shot straight through the soldier's forehead, killing him instantly.

North kicked the hammer away and scrambled to his feet, once again trading his rifle for the SMG as he returned to the fight. His chest was definitely hurting by now, and he was starting to feel breathless. The waves of soldiers seemed never-ending, and every time he defeated one another would suddenly appear to take their place. North fought without faltering, but he was starting to grow desperate.

However, as he ducked down to reload, he heard a loud bang and several cries of pain, and leapt up to see flames spreading rapidly from a firebomb grenade. The fire reached a badly-damaged car that was leaking fuel everywhere, and suddenly the whole world seemed to go up in a bright shower of sparks. Several cars in the vicinity of the explosion were sent flipping through the air, and North barely managed to avoid being crushed by one as it slammed down onto its roof right beside him. He quickly slipped behind it for cover and pulled out his rifle again, firing blindly at every opportunity he got.

A sudden bang made him look up, and he gasped in horror when he saw the huge skyscraper that Team A had been infiltrating get hit by a massive beam. All the glass in the building exploded, flying out in every direction, and he could see flames appearing at the top. He quickly pulled out his sniper rifle and zoomed in on the roof as far as he could. He could barely make out human-like shapes sprinting across the top, before leaping off the edge. North felt intense panic well up in his chest as he realised that York could still be in there.

When he saw the Pelican also freefalling beside them, he knew that it was the members of Team A that were now plummeting towards the ground, and he prayed that York was safe.

"North!" CT's frantic voice suddenly came through on the radio. North shook his head to clear it and reached for his radio.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"Wyoming's down, and there's soldiers everywhere! Where are you?" she cried. North clenched his teeth; this was going from bad to worse.

"I'm behind an overturned police car," he replied tersely.

"There's like fifty overturned police cars!" CT shrieked, and North winced.

"Fine, just stay where you are! I'll find you!" North ordered, before he turned his tracker back on and desperately looked for green outlines. Suddenly, he spotted them, luckily only a few metres away. He quickly threw himself out of his cover and ran for their location, dodging bullets desperately.

Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his shoulder, and looked to see a knife lodged in his armour. With a grunt, he ripped it out and kept running, adrenaline letting him ignore the pain, until something suddenly barrelled into him, knocking him clean off his feet. The soldier that had attacked him quickly jumped up and reached for his gun. North quickly rolled sideways and pulled himself upright, grunting with pain as his chest was twisted. He spun around and fired an SMG round right into the enemy's face, before kicking the body away and continuing his mad sprint to CT's cover. He threw himself down beside them, narrowly avoiding fire, and settled into ready position with his sniper rifle.

"CT, what's his status?" North commanded, still shooting madly from behind the cover.

"I'm not sure what happened!" the brown Freelancer cried. "There was just this big explosion and suddenly Wyoming's on the ground!"

North didn't reply, instead checking the timer on his HUD. He gulped when he realised that their time was almost up; he knew it would be impossible to secure the target in less than thirty seconds. Suddenly, his radio crackled to life.

"Team B, report! Team B!" Carolina's voice was like music to North's ears. He fired a couple more shots before ducking back.

"Team B is down!" he reported breathlessly. "We have wounded and are taking fire!"

"We'll be right there!" Carolina informed him.

"Negative," North countered. "Get the package. Get it out of the city."

"Roger that," she replied. North turned off his radio again and turned to his team.

"Looks like we're on our own."

* * *

**There you go! Thank you for reading, and please leave a review! You know the drill, concrit welcome, flames not, yada yada.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Greetings, my wonderful readers, and welcome to chapter sixteen of More than Machines! The action continues!**

**Warning: Violence**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it**

* * *

Heavy gunfire was raining around their cover. North didn't know how, but at some point during his call with Carolina, the opponents had managed to get a Warthog turret functioning, and Team B was now pinned down.

CT was busy giving Wyoming as much aid as possible, so she couldn't help. It was up to North to get his team out alive.

He went to peek out from behind the car, but a hail of bullets immediately careened down the moment the top of his helmet appeared, and he ducked back down with a curse. He turned to CT.

"We have to get out of here. Have you got any ideas?" CT just shrugged helplessly and turned her attention back to Wyoming. North looked around, and spotted a plasma grenade lying beside a body a few feet away. He suddenly knew what he had to do to take out that Warthog. He snapped his sniper rifle to his back and holstered his SMG. He then readied himself, took a deep breath, and threw himself towards the grenade.

The turret immediately started firing frantically at him as he sprinted madly. The first hail of bullets just bounced of his shields, but then he could feel them faltering. Another bullet imbedded itself in his hip armour, and he saw one pass right in front of his visor, but he kept running. When he was within range he threw himself down and grabbed the grenade. He felt another couple of bullets slam into his abdominal plating, and he gasped, but kept on going, managing to duck behind another car before they managed to get another lucky shot. He glanced down and winced; he could see three bullet holes in the armour, and one of them had gotten through and was now trickling blood. North didn't feel it, however, as his whole body felt numb, so he ignored it.

Instead, he pulled out the grenade, squeezed his eyes shut to prepare himself, before opening his eyes and charging out towards the Warthog.

He felt another couple of shots hit, but his chest armour had been reinforced and the bullets didn't get all the way through. It did, however, knock him back a bit, but he kept going.

An Insurrectionist soldier jumped in front of him with a battle rifle, and North swiftly pulled out his SMG and fired frantically, before lashing out with the gun and knocking the falling body away. He kept his gun in front of him, firing at everything that blocked his path. He was running on pure adrenaline as he shot, punched, kicked and ran his way to the Warthog. He reached it, narrowly avoiding its fire, and quickly primed the grenade and stuck it to the side. He then turned and sprinted away, but soldiers kept getting in his way. Desperately, he just kept running, charging everyone in his path like a footballer. However, he was still within range when he heard the grenade detonate, and the blast wave sent him flying. He slammed on the ground, landing on his already-battered chest, and groaned with pain. He gritted his teeth and activated his tracker, and spotted the two green outlines of his teammates nearby. He hauled himself to his feet and ran the last few metres before throwing himself behind the car and landing on his back, gasping for breath.

"Holy shit! North!" CT cried, leaving Wyoming to investigate the various bullets littering his body. North waved her away and hauled himself up into a crouch, still breathing hard.

"Look after Wyoming," he rasped, "I'll figure out how we're gonna get out of here." CT just nodded curtly and turned back to the white-armoured freelancer, who was still unconscious. North accessed his motion tracker, but after a few seconds it flickered and stopped. He realised his armour had run out of power, which also meant that his shielding was down.

"Shit," he cursed. He turned on his HUD again, and was immediately assaulted by error messages that made him flash back to the mission which had nearly killed him. He couldn't even contemplate using his bubble shield; if his armour couldn't even maintain a motion tracker, then the attempt would certainly kill him.

As he peeked out from behind his temporary shelter, he saw that there were far less soldiers than there had been originally, but he could not confirm that with his motion tracker.

"Well, time to do this the old-fashioned way," he grunted to himself, before pulling out his sniper rifle again and firing as best he could. Fear and determination mixed together into an ice-cold concentration. He felt himself aim and fire, and saw enemies dropping left and right as bullets slammed into their foreheads and chests.

Soon, the massive wall of soldiers had thinned somewhat, but he realised with a growl that he had run out of ammo for his rifle. He checked his SMG, and saw that it, too, was nearly depleted. _Better not let those bullets go to waste_, he thought to himself, before leaping out.

The world became a blur of red blood and bright sparks as he fired madly. He had somehow acquired a knife from one of his enemies after they had tried to stab him, and he was now whirling through the crowd, SMG firing and knife flying. Eventually, his SMG ran out and he threw it aside, before stabbing a man holding a shotgun and stealing the weapon. At this close range, the shotgun proved invaluable, and soon the ground became a sea of blood and bodies.

And suddenly, there was no movement. North stopped and stared at the carnage around him, at all the bodies. He dropped his weapons and collapsed to his knees, staring in horror at all the dead soldiers.

"What have I done?" he whispered, feeling himself begin to tremble. He suddenly felt sick, and he barely managed to rip his helmet off in time before he lurched forwards and threw up all over the blood-spattered ground. He felt completely numb with shock, not even registering the blood painting his purple armour red. He just knelt there.

He'd done this. He'd killed all those men without mercy. They had just been doing as ordered, and he'd killed them all ruthlessly. The full gravity of his actions hit him like the Gravity Hammer, and he sobbed. He did not cry with sadness. His eyes remained completely dry. But he sobbed with the force of somebody who'd been completely broken.

He'd done this. He was a monster.

And it was all because of Project Freelancer.

* * *

**Poor North :(**

**Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you'll leave a review! Critism is encouraged, accepted and taken on board, flames are not!**


	17. Chapter 17

**So, after the drama of the last chapter, please enjoy chapter seventeen of More than Machines!**

**Warning: Slash**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it**

* * *

North walked slowly back to where CT had emerged from behind the car, one of Wyoming's arms draped over her shoulder. He felt like he was on autopilot, his purple armour moving itself. He barely reacted when CT bitched at him for taking so long, or when he heard Wyoming's quiet 'well done, chap.' He just nodded silently and reached for his radio.

"Command, this is Agent North Dakota. Team B ready for extraction."

"Acknowledged. Vehicle Four-Seven-Niner will collect you shortly." F.I.L.S.S's monotone voice replied.

"Roger that. North out."

* * *

It didn't take long for the transport to arrive, but by that time Wyoming had fallen unconscious again and North could really feel his injuries. He didn't complain, however, as he helped CT and Wash lift Wyoming into a seat. For the first time since they landed, North remembered that York had gone with Team A, yet only Wash was on board.

"What the hell happened to you, man?" Wash's exclamation interrupted his thoughts. He had wandered over form where he'd been examining the Sarcophagus, and was now looking North up and down. "You look like you've been put through a shredder!"

"There were just… more soldiers than we expected," North muttered, clenching his eyes shut against the images of all those dead bodies. His ears were still ringing from the gunfire, and he kept imagining that he could still hear the screams.

"Hey, you alright?" Wash asked quietly. North shook his head.

"I'm fine," he murmured shortly. Wash hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say more, but eventually turned and resumed inspecting the Sarcophagus.

North heaved a sigh and went to sink down into a seat, but immediately stopped when his muscles protested vehemently about moving. Instead, he opted to lean on the wall of the Pelican, using one of the seat harnesses as a handhold when the ride got a bit bumpy. He was exhausted, and he could feel the weight of his sniper rifle quite acutely from where it rested on his back. He didn't dare take it off, however; they had no idea what the situation would be where they landed. Instead, he just contented himself with looking out the window – and spotted two very familiar figures on the freeway.

"Guys! York and Maine are down there!" he quickly called. Wash, who was the only one still standing, also came over to look, while the Pelican swiftly turned and headed to where the other Freelancers were.

As they grew closer, North's happiness at seeing his fellow agents alive turned to dread when he saw that York was leaning over Maine, who had blood all over his throat.

"Shit, what happened?" Wash breathed in horror. North just shrugged helplessly as he watched York glance up and start waving frantically. The Pelican finally came to a halt and landed safely, and immediately Wash ran out to help York with Maine. North decided that, in his current state, he would only hinder them, so he stayed put.

Eventually, Maine was safely loaded, and the Pelican started lifting off again. York immediately hurried over and tackled North in a massive hug. North grunted with pain as his boyfriend's arms pressed on his sore chest, and York instantly let go, only to rip his and North's helmets off and press a desperate kiss to North's lips. North kissed back just as hard, pouring all of his fears and worries into it, as well as expressing his intense relief that York was safe. When they eventually pulled away, North realised that everyone who was conscious was watching them, and he quickly put his helmet on to hide his face. York replicated the movement, before proceeding to inspect every mark on North's body.

"What happened here?" he asked suddenly, pointing at a mark in North's shoulder, where blood had stained the black suit beneath.

"Knife," North murmured, after a moment of struggling to recall the event. York very gently stroked over the area, and North hissed with pain. York swiftly moved away from the area and started examining all the bullet holes in North's chestplate. After satisfying himself that none of the bullets had fully punctured the metal, he moved on to the abdominal plate. North heard him take a sharp intake of breath at the one bullet which _had _gone through, and the blood that had crusted the inside of the hole.

"Forgot about that one," North grunted, wincing behind his visor when York prodded around the area. "It's not very deep though. Just a scratch."

"Just a scratch!" York cried, standing upright to stare right into North's visor. "What do you mean, just a-" York's tirade was cut off by the realisation that the Pelican had landed and they were now picking up Carolina. Wash was busy fussing over Maine, so North watched as York went over to the open hatch and held out a hand for Carolina to take. North was too tired to care that York was essentially holding hands with somebody else, he was just glad for the escape from one of his boyfriend's 'mother hen' rants.

As the Pelican took off again, and they were officially safe, North reached behind him and removed his rifle. He started over towards one of the weapon holders, but staggered when he removed his hand from the seat restraint that he'd been using to hold himself up. Immediately, he felt gloved fingers wrap around his upper arm, hauling him upright.

"You need to rest. You're exhausted," York admonished, removing the rifle from North's unresisting hands and gently pressing him into a seat. North gritted his teeth as he sank down, but soon he felt his legs give out and he plonked down rather ungracefully. York activated the seat restraints for him, before heading over to the weapons locker to deposit the sniper rifle. He then dropped into the seat beside North and sighed.

"I'm just so glad you're safe," he whispered. North sluggishly forced his head to turn.

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

**Naww, aren't they so cute? ^_^**

**Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! Concrit is very welcome, flames are not!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys, and welcome to chapter eighteen of More than Machines! We are SO close to the end now!**

**Warning: Slash**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it**

* * *

Luckily for North, the injuries he had obtained during the fight with the Insurrectionists were mostly superficial. His armour and shields had prevented serious damage, with the only somewhat serious injury being the stab wound in his shoulder. The soldier who had stabbed him had gotten lucky and managed to slip the knife between two armour plates, where North was unprotected. So he now had bandaging around his arm and it hurt to move it.

York had managed to get by with only a few scrapes and dents, so he had spent most of his time with North. He had conceded defeat when the medics had confirmed that the bullet in North's abdomen had, in fact, just nicked the skin, which was why there had been so little blood around the hole.

North had just laughed at York's face when the medics had said that it was "just a scratch."

He did, however, sport some rather impressive bruises where his armour had managed to stop the bullets from hitting his skin, but the impact of them had still caused damage. North knew that he was extremely fortunate, the stark white scars on his chest a permanent reminder of how close he'd come to losing his life.

"Are you still sore?" York's concerned question snapped North out of his thoughts. North looked up and realised that he'd been absent-mindedly rubbing his chest. He shook his head.

"No, just… thinking," he replied. York gently reached over and pulled his hands away.

"Hey, I got bad news for you, man," he told him. North gave him a questioning look.

"What bad news?" he asked, immediately worried.

"You got moved down on the board. You're sixth now. Below Wash."

"Wha- below _Wash_?" North spluttered in shock. York chuckled slightly at the reaction.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. Apparently, you're lucky to still be on the board at all."

"What about South?" North couldn't help but ask. York shook his head.

"She's off," he said. North sighed.

"She's never gonna speak to me again," he groaned. York gave him a gentle pat on the back and a grin.

"Nah, she'll come round," he reassured. North went to reply, but was interrupted by the medic entering once again.

"North," he began. "You are now free to leave, but you are not to strain that arm. York, I'm trusting you to keep this one out of trouble, okay?"

"Sure thing, Doc!" York laughed, as North protested that he could care for himself. The medic just smiled.

North and York, due to their frequent visits to the medical bay, had gotten to know a lot of the medics, and the medics had gotten to know them in return.

"Well, why are you standing around? Scat!" the medic exclaimed, making a shooing motion with his hands. York laughed and helped North up, before the two headed out the door, just as F.I.L.S.S announced that it was time for lunch.

* * *

At lunch, North was quiet. He sat and ate his food in silence, only speaking when spoken to. York kept shooting him worried glances, but North just ignored him.

Wash seemed no better. He was also just sitting there with his head down, picking at his food. North had never seen Wash so subdued; not even when South had been ignoring him. North couldn't help but remember the moment when they had picked up York and Maine, and how Wash had bolted out to help without even hesitating. York had also told him that Wash had been hanging around the surgery room that Maine was in.

Wyoming was still in the medics' care, as he was suffering from a bad concussion, so the only occupants of the table were York, Wash and North. And poor York was left sitting in awkward silence as his teammates sat there brooding.

North stabbed his fork viciously into his salad, and then froze as memories rose up.

_He lashed out, and felt the knife slide effortlessly into the enemy soldiers neck. The soldier made a strange gurgling sound as blood began bubbling out of the wound, sliding in rivulets down North's gloved hand. And as he saw the warm, red liquid painting the blade of the knife, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, even as his insides churned with horror._

"North!"

North snapped out of his flashback with a jolt, and saw that he had been gripping his fork so hard the metal had snapped. He turned to see both Wash and York staring at him worriedly.

"I'm fine," he muttered, getting up to get a new fork. He could feel eyes on him the whole way to the cutlery tray. When North returned, York rose up and gently took his arm.

"Can we please talk?" he asked softly. North looked into his partner's worried eyes and nodded, allowing himself to be half-guided, half-dragged towards the dorms.

"Okay, what's up?" York demanded as soon as the door shut. North sank down onto York's bed with a sigh, chewing his lip.

"I don't really want to talk about it," he mumbled. He felt the mattress sink down as York sat down next to him.

"Please, tell me! Obviously something bad happened on that mission…" he trailed off. North just shook his head.

"It just… made me rethink some stuff, that's all…" he replied honestly.

"Do you think that we're not going to work?" York asked hesitantly. North whirled his head around in shock. York looked worried and upset. North shook his head frantically.

"No! No, not at all!" he cried. "Why would you think that?"

"It's just… you've been ignoring me a bit and I was getting worried," York sighed. North desperately searched for words that would alleviate York's fears, and upon finding none, simply grabbed York's face and kissed him fiercely, just like the other had in the Pelican after the mission.

Eventually, the two pulled away, and York looked much happier.

"So, you're not going to leave me?" York asked, with a broad grin. North chuckled.

Later, he would say that it was all the chaotic emotions that had been rushing through his head at the time that had made him say it. Or perhaps that all the movies had said it was the appropriate thing to say after dangerous situations.

Whatever the reason, North still couldn't deny that he'd said it.

"Don't worry, I won't leave you," he reassured. "I love you."

And then the atmosphere froze.

* * *

**Ooh... O.O**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review! Concrit is wonderful, flames... not so wonderful...**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter nineteen of More than Machines! Also known as THE LAST CHAPTER! *dances then cries* Don't worry, there is still an epilogue to come!**

**Warning: Slash, bit of violence/gore**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it**

* * *

The silence was deafening as North and York stared at each other. For a while, nobody moved, and North could feel himself getting more and more tense as the seconds dragged on. Finally, York cleared his throat, breaking the quiet.

"Well, if you're gonna say something like that, you gotta finish it!" he exclaimed, before leaning forwards and kissing North again. At first, North didn't react, too shocked to move, but soon he relaxed and leaned forwards, deepening it.

Once again, they pulled apart, and York gently entwined his fingers with North's.

"I love you too," he whispered softly, and North felt a giddy grin pull his lips up to his ears.

For the moment, he couldn't be happier.

* * *

_He was standing in the middle of the deserted car park once again. The bodies of his killed enemies were no longer there, but the blood still stained the smooth tarmac, and the air reeked of death and decay. North knelt down, reaching a trembling finger out to touch the red splatters. It was still wet. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him, and he whirled to see an Insurrectionist soldier standing in front of him, holding a bloodstained knife. North realised that it was the same knife he had used to slaughter so many people, and he felt bile rise in his throat. The soldier took a step forwards, and North went to back away, only to bump into something. He turned to see a police officer, also holding the same blood-splattered knife. North spun a full circle, and everywhere he looked there was another soldier or policeman standing there, always holding the same knife outstretched. As if the group was a single entity, they all took another step forwards, closing in on the purple Freelancer. North instinctively reached for his rifle, before he realised with a jolt that he was completely unarmed. The soldiers took yet another step forwards, and North could see that the tips of the knives were just centimetres away. He froze, feeling his breath starting to quicken. Then, as if commanded by an invisible force, the soldiers spoke._

"_Monster…" they whispered ominously, "monster…"_

"_I'm not a monster!" North cried. They just kept on chanting._

"_Monster… monster…"_

"_Stop it! Stop it!" North exclaimed, rushing at one. Instantly, the whole group shouted 'kill the monster!' before lunging forwards with knives outstretched. North could feel each blade slide into his flesh effortlessly, as if his armour wasn't even there. He could feel crimson blood running down his body, and the pain was becoming unbearable. He could feel guilt and terror rampaging through his mind as the knives stabbed deeper still. He screamed and screamed for it to stop, but they just kept chanting, just kept stabbing, until North felt like he could take it no more. He crumpled to his knees, the agony overwhelming him. Blackness was starting to creep over his vision, and blind panic filled him as he felt himself slipping away. He didn't want to die, he didn't want to die, he didn't-_

"_North!" he heard a painfully familiar voice calling to him, but it sounded so far away. He strained his ears, trying to pinpoint where the voice was emanating from._

"_North!" he heard it again, much louder and clearer this time. But suddenly, he felt like he was suffocating. A heavy weight seemed to be pressing down on his chest and throat, crushing the breath out of him. He tried to cry out, but all that emerged from his lips was a strangled choking sound. He thrashed around on the ground, desperately clawing at the air. He felt his arms being pinned down, and he struggled even harder. The force grew stronger, and bright white spots burst in front of his vision. He tried to scream again, but nobody was listening, and he was slipping further and further…_

"North!"

North jolted upright in bed, desperately inhaling a deep breath and feeling intense relief when the air flowed easily into his lungs. The sheets around him were twisted, and he was soaked in sweat. He sat there, breathing heavily and enjoying the feeling of oxygen entering his system again.

"North?"

The quiet voice made North jump a mile, and he whirled around, ready to fight his attacker. But all he saw was the fearful face of York.

"York?" North queried softly, terrified that this was also a dream.

"Yeah, it's me…" the other man soothed, taking a few hesitant steps to the side of the bed. North reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him down beside him. York gently wrapped his arms around North's shoulders, and North buried his face into York's strong chest, enjoying the feeling of being protected.

"Hey, I'm here, I'm here," York murmured reassuringly, running his fingers through North's hair in a stroking motion. North took a shuddering breath and gripped onto York even tighter. They sat like that for a while, until North's silent sobs had died out. York hesitantly spoke up.

"What happened, North? You woke me up when you started screaming…"

"H-how did you get in here?" North asked, his voice still quavering.

"Hacked the door." York replied. "You scared the crap out of me, North! I woke up to the sound of screaming, and I sprinted over as soon as I realised it was you. Never broke a lock so fast." North chuckled quietly, although there was no real humour behind it.

"Must've been pretty fast then," he mumbled, finally regaining himself enough to extricate him from York's warm embrace.

"It didn't seem fast at the time," York admitted, before his gaze became serious. "But that must have been a horrible nightmare. Will you tell me what happened?"

North sighed, then nodded, and proceeded to tell York exactly what had happened in his dream. York's expression became increasingly more concerned and horrified, but never did he shrink away from North, instead holding him closer, and that was when the figurative dam broke.

North spilled out everything that he'd been holding close to him since the mission, telling York in detail everything that had happened during the fight with the soldiers. He described the sheer masses of enemies, and how the police had joined the fight. He explained how he'd taken out the Warthog, and how he'd been forced to take on the rest of the troops on his own while CT cared for Wyoming.

And finally, painfully, he told York what he'd done; how he'd killed all those soldiers mercilessly. He fought to keep his composure, but he finally cracked when he revealed that he'd _enjoyed _it. He'd _enjoyed _the feeling of the knife sliding into their necks, he'd _enjoyed _the sight of their blood coating his armour. And he'd revelled in the feeling that he was better than all of them.

And after he'd finished his tale, York said nothing, instead opting to gather his shaking boyfriend into his arms and hold him as he finally released his emotions and cried openly into York's shoulder.

* * *

**Almost at the end! :')**

**Thanks for reading, and please please PLEASE review! Concrit makes me happy, flames make me... indifferent, I don't really care... they just get ignored...**

**Water on the duck's back and all that!**


	20. Epilogue

**THIS IS IT! THE LAST CHAPTER! DX**

**I am going to miss this story so much! :(**

**But I'm so happy it's finally finished! My first ever multichapter fic! :D**

**Warning: Slash! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the characters/trademarks associated with it!**

* * *

After his breakdown the previous night, North felt like a massive load had been lifted off his chest. York had been so supportive, holding him and watching over him all night, until the ship's lights started coming on and F.I.L.S.S announced that it was time to get ready for breakfast.

When they'd walked into the dining hall hand-in-hand with dark bags under their eyes, Wash had immediately wandered up and given them both a pat on the back.

"We heard you screaming last night, man!" Wash told North. "Sounded like hell. You okay now?"

North smiled and gave York's hand an affectionate squeeze.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he replied tiredly. He heard York yawn loudly, and his smile grew a tad bigger.

"Well, it's nice to see you guys talking again. We were getting a bit worried," Wash grinned, but his eyes held a touch of sadness and regret. North placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," he muttered firmly. Wash nodded, understanding the double meaning, and stepped back to allow them to head to the buffet.

As they sat down, York's left foot slammed into his chair and sent it skittering across the room.

"It's that damn left side," York grumbled as he went to retrieve it, and North laughed happily, enjoying the return to normalcy.

* * *

Later that day, York and North were sitting in the locker room. York was absentmindedly turning his old, damaged helmet in his hands, before turning to look at the board. He noticed that he'd been moved back into third, below Carolina.

"List's changed again," he commented.

"Yep," North replied, focusing on fastening his knee armour.

"Lots of things changing these days," York continued, tossing his battered helmet into the bin. He'd kept it for some reason, but now he just wanted to get rid of the thing. He turned to North. "And I think we got more change on the way."

"You feel it too?" North asked, shuffling over on the bench to give York room to sit down.

"Yeah, I felt it since Texas showed up," he admitted. "And when cops and military started shooting at us… yeah, I find I just keep coming back to the same question in my head. Over and over again…"

"And what question's that?" North asked, suddenly curious as to what was going through his boyfriend's head. York turned to him with a troubled look.

"We're the good guys… right?"

"Yeah, of course we are!" North replied, standing up. Even as he said them, the words felt hollow. Clearly, York had noticed too.

"You don't sound so sure of yourself," he informed him. North turned to look at the rankings again.

"No," he said, watching as South walked past the window with the same depressed look on her face that she'd been wearing for weeks. He turned to look at York over his shoulder. "No, I suppose I don't."

He turned back to the board, questions turning themselves over in his head. Why was the Director doing this? Why the rankings, the secrecy, the dangerous missions?

He was going to get to the bottom of this.

He had to find out what was going on with Project Freelancer.

* * *

***dodges bricks* I know, I know! I am so evil with cliffhangers!**

**Anyway, I just wanted to take the time to thank you all SO MUCH for reading this fic and sticking with it! Big thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed! Also thanks to my friends for being my unofficial beta-readers, and to One Over Infinity for being my WONDERFUL official beta-reader.**

**This fic really means a lot to me, as it is the long term project I've started and stuck with! It also happens to be the longest thing I ever wrote, with the page count coming to 58 pages! (with size eleven font!)**

**Also, with the end of this fic comes the announcement of another! The sequel to More than Machines will be...!**

***drumroll***

**More than Mortals! *canned applause***

**Yeah, I know, its kinda lame, but I came up with the idea and it stuck...**

**More than Mortals shall be started when season 10 is finished, and will run in the same timeline.**

**In the meantime, I have a collection of oneshots that I will be updating fairly regularly. The collection will be called More than Moments, and it will just offer more detailed glimpses into the lives of North and York.**

**Anyway, thank you all once again for being so wonderful and supportive to a little newbie like myself, and I hope that I can continue to live up to your expectations and keep producing quality works!**

**And I hope to see you all again in chapter one of More than Mortals!**

**:D**


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